Julia Roberts may never play him in a movie, but considering the work one UNM employee did to try to uncover the truth about a cancer cluster in Ohio, it’s hard not to compare him to Erin Brockovich.
Adan Garcia, operations manager for the communication and journalism department, is the director of the documentary “Fighting for Answers,” a film that explores the role waste dumping played in the development of a cancer cluster near his hometown in Ohio.
He said that in the last few years in the small town of Clyde, more than 36 children have been
diagnosed with cancer, and a four kids already died. He said the town, which has a population of about 5,000 people, is surrounded by waste sites and dumps.
“So I went there about 2 1/2 – 3 years ago to start working on the documentary because I thought, ‘Well, what can I do on my part?’ So I did all this research, and anything I could to make it happen,” he said.
In his film, Garcia featured three families from Clyde with children who had died from cancer. One of the families, the Browns, he knew personally. He said that when the Browns’ daughter, Alexa, died, he knew he had to do something.
“When she passed away, that’s when I really moved forward and went ahead with the documentary,” he said. “Because I always thought she would beat it. I didn’t think that she would pass away from this. … After seeing in the local paper that she passed away, I said, ‘OK I’ve got to do this.’”
Garcia said Whirlpool Appliances and Vickery Environmental, Inc. are the two companies dumping the most waste into the water in Clyde.
“(Vickery) has put over a billion gallons of chemical waste under the ground,” he said. “Whirlpool, which is the bigger manufacturer in Clyde, Ohio, they employ half of Clyde. I tried to interview them, and they declined to comment with me.”
Garcia began working on the film in August 2009. He said it took him 16 months to complete, and that UNM students Jennifer Williams and Aaron Hamre helped him with the project as well.
Garcia has been featured on numerous local media outlets around Ohio for his documentary. The film has been accepted to the Ohio Film Festival, which takes place this month, and the Sundance Film Festival, which takes place in January 2012.
Garcia said he is deciding whether to premiere his film earlier at the Ohio festival, or wait and have it premiere at Sundance, which is more prestigious. He said he used $10,000 of his own money to produce the film.
“I’m paying it back still,” he said. “I sold my car to help finance (the film.) But it’s something I felt like I had to do.”
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