The results of recent tests will be sent for review to the EPA and New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Health. A final report is scheduled to be published in the middle of 1999. The companies have collected data and are sharing their results with scientists representing the community. We thus far see no evidence that the ground water caused the childhood cancers. Of course, this self-imposed litigation moratorium could break down if one side loses faith.
Mediation is about the long slow process of developing trust.
In Toms River, however, we are still at the early stages. The lessons of Woburn still smart. It took years before the Environmental Protection Agency filed its own lawsuits against W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods. Vindication came, but the struggle devastated Woburn and left Schlichtmann bankrupt. In Toms River, folks are hoping for the positive results, but without the acrimony.