FARMINGTON -- Mark Thomas stood in the living room of his house on the corner of State Street and 200 West and started ticking off how many of his neighbors either have cancer or have died of it.
As he pointed out his windows at houses no more than a stone's throw from his own and pronounced one name after another, a somber expression came over his face. Total tally: nine. Many of them had worked at Miller Floral, he said."Seems like everybody is dying of cancer," said Thomas, looking surprised as he said it. "You people are making me nervous."
He had never thought to add up the cancer cases in his neighborhood until a reporter asked him about the recent decision by Davis County authorities to look into possible pesticide contamination at the nearby site of the old Miller Floral Co., which closed in the 1970s.
According to Dr. James H. Saunders, director of the Davis County Health Department, an epidemiological survey would have to be done in order to determine whether the number of cases noted by Thomas is statistically significant.
One-fourth of all deaths are caused by cancer, and it's a fairly common cause of death, particularly among older individuals, Saunders said.
The Davis County Health Department, the Utah Bureau of Epidemiology, the Davis County School District and the city of Farmington formed a committee last month to look into the situation and decide whether an epidemiological survey and soil tests might be warranted.
That decision came two weeks after Deanie Stott, a Farmington resident, went to the media with her concerns regarding possible contamination.
According to Saunders, the individuals who operated Miller Floral are now "long gone."
Thomas, 36, a Farmington firefighter, and his wife, Diane, 33, both said they would like the tests to be done to find out if anything is wrong. Their daughter NaKeisha attends Farmington Junior High School, which is located on the old Miller site. Around 700 children attend that school, said Thomas. They have another daughter who attends the nearby Farmington Elementary.
Other area residents said they also would like to see tests done to find out if there are any grounds for concern.
"This should be checked into for everyone's sake," said Cal Fadel, 43, who has one son at Farmington Junior High and another at Farmington Elementary.
Esther West, 71, has had two strokes, but she draws no connection between her health problems and the fact that she worked at Miller Floral for seven years. "I worked in the office, but maybe the people in the greenhouse were exposed," she speculated. "They should do a survey."
"I'm concerned about how chemicals might have been handled. I'd like to find out if there is a problem," said Gene McDaniel, 57, who has lived in the area since 1966. However, "I'm not convinced yet," he added, referring to the possible link between pesticides and illnesses in the neighborhood. "How do any of us know where our health problems come from?"
That is something that is difficult to establish, Saunders said, pointing out that even in the notorious Love Canal case, no definitive connection had been established between contamination and some of the illnesses suffered by residents.
Not all area residents are concerned about the possibility of contamination at the old Miller Floral site.
One of the naysayers is Madge Mecham, whose husband has had both colon and prostate cancer.
"I worked there for 10 years until they closed, and I feel fine," said Mecham. "I don't think my husband's cancers had anything to do with Miller Floral."
Donna Snyder, 45, said she has lived in the area for eight years and her family has not experienced any unusual health problems. "This is no big deal to us," she said.