Emergencyrooms（ER）aresupposedtocurepeoplebutDr．JohnStemgoldwondersifworkinginanERinWillitsmadehimsick．TheERwasdownwindoftheRemcochromeplant．"Iusedtositfacingthatwindowandkindofdaydreamoutthewin
Emergency rooms （ER） are supposed to cure people but Dr．John Stemgold wonders if working in an ER in Willits made him sick．The ER was downwind of the Remco chrome plant．"I used to sit facing that window and kind of daydream out the window，looking at Remco，looking at the fog coming out of there．Then I would cough and cough．"Stemgold said．
What Dr．Stemgold didn't know was that Remco was flowing out Chromium VI into the air---a chemical known to cause cancer and breathing problems in humans．A recent state health department study found that people who were in Willits when Remco was in operation from 1964to 1995are at higher risk for cancer because of Chromium VI exposure．
Today Dr．Stemgold has lots of time to play his guitar．It turns out he has a form of breathing difficulty．Hospital chemicals cause coughing so violently that he's broken bones and it's cost him his career．Others in this town believe the Chromium has made them sick，too，and their families．Actually，Chromium VI was classified as a carcinogen，a cancer-causing substance，thirty years ago，Twenty years ago，a group of state scientific specialists found no exposure level below which carcinogen effects would not have some probability of occurring．Still，Remco was allowed to flow out Chromium VI into the air．
In the battle to balance public health and a healthy economy，laws often favor business，Alan Ramo is a professor of law at Golden Gate University．"There is a real drive to make money，to have employment．When there's a real job that's available and a theoretical risk of a chemical，jobs win out，business wins out．"
And chemicals are allowed to flood the marketplace and the government requires strict testing before any drugs can be sold．But the vast majority of industrial chemicals are put into use little testing of any kind Chemicals that people like us，you and me might be exposed to．Marilyn Underwood is with California state health department．"You nee