You're More Likely To Get Cancer If This Is Your NJ Town

Most of us are constantly trying to avoid cancer. Today, it goes beyond avoiding cigarettes. I mean, just think about how our habits have changed in the last ten years. For example, you wouldn’t dream of drinking from a plastic water bottle that has been sitting in your hot car or laying out in the sun with baby oil on, would you? How many of us avoid artificial sweeteners and only use glass containers? I even have a friend that won’t eat fast food because of the foil wrapper packaging.

Photo by kayleigh harrington on Unsplash

We are drinking green drinks, taking vitamins, and doing cleanses. So when I saw this news I yelled, “Come on!!!!” It was just revealed that you are actually more likely to get cancer if you live in either one of these two New Jersey towns.

The Environmental Protection Agency just determined that these two towns expose their residents to too much ethylene Oxide or EtO. So what is EtO? It is an antimicrobial pesticide that is used to sterilize medical equipment, nuts, and spices. I know random right?

According to the EPA:

Inhaling EtO over many decades is known to cause cancers of the white blood cells (such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, myeloma, and lymphocytic leukemia), and may cause breast cancer. Children are thought to be more susceptible to EtO than adults; those who are exposed to EtO early in life are more likely to develop cancer later in life. Chronic exposure to EtO can also cause neurological symptoms, including memory loss and impaired hand-eye coordination.

Not good. Not good at all. Tests were conducted in towns that perform this sort of sterilization. The test was conducted under the premise that the person lives in either of these towns and breathe the air 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until age 70.

So what are the New Jersey towns with an elevated risk of developing cancer?

Franklin, New Jersey

Linden, New Jersey

You can read more from The Patch here.

LOOK: Here are the 25 best places to live in New Jersey

Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in New Jersey using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.

On the list, there's a robust mix of offerings from great schools and nightlife to high walkability and public parks. Some areas have enjoyed rapid growth thanks to new businesses moving to the area, while others offer glimpses into area history with well-preserved architecture and museums. Keep reading to see if your hometown made the list.

LOOK: See America's 50 Best Beach Towns

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.