Thursday, December 30, 2004
PAUL WYCHE THE SAGINAW NEWS
Residents concerned about the long-term effects of dioxin might want to use Jamie W. Sochocki as a litmus test.
The Valley Lutheran High School student's mother consumed large portions of walleye caught in the Saginaw River before realizing her pregnancy with him.
When The Saginaw News featured Carol Sochocki in 1988, she voiced concern that health officials advised expectant mothers to abstain from eating more than one game fish monthly caught downstream from Dow Chemical Co.'s Midland Operations.
"You hear so many different things on the news and TV," she said then. "You don't know whether you should eat the fish or not."
Carol Sochocki died about two years ago from Wegener's granulomatosis, a mysterious illness that destroys the body's organs. The disease is not linked with dioxin poisoning.
Still, Greg D. Sochocki, who divorced his wife before her death, said her demise raises eyebrows.
"I'm not saying it's from dioxin," he said. "I don't know. Years down the road, who knows what they'll find out."
Nonetheless, their son said he's healthy.
"My mom told me about what happened, but we didn't talk about it," he said. "We never really think about it."
Sochocki said he hasn't experienced any ill effects from his mother's regular consumption of walleye. At 16, the Bridgeport Township teen says he's healthy and looks forward to playing the forward and goaltender positions on his school's varsity soccer squad.
During the summer, he works for his father's business, Buttercrust Bakery in Bridgeport Township.
He said he understands the fears surrounding dioxin, a poisonous byproduct of combustion that is linked to cancer.
"My grandmother lives along the Tittabawassee River, and they're testing people," Sochocki said regarding a University of Michigan study aimed at examining the blood dioxin levels of residents.
"She told them they could test her but that she didn't want to know the results."
Sochocki remains "your typical everyday teenager," his father said.
"He shot his first deer this year and is looking forward to playing his first year of varsity," Greg Sochocki said. "It's turned out good for us, but I know a lot of people are concerned about dioxin." v
Paul Wyche is a staff writer for The Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9674.
© 2004 Saginaw News
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.