Environmental crusader Erin Brockovich plans to speak at a news conference Thursday before a meeting she is hosting to discuss a state Department of Health investigation of a suspected cancer cluster in The Acreage.

Brockovich, best known for the Oscar-winning movie about her crusade against toxic water pollution in California, plans to speak to the press at 5:30 p.m. at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach. A 7 p.m. "town hall" meeting follows.

President of California-based Brockovich Research & Consulting, Brockovich works with Weitz & Luxenberg, a New York City law firm that has been investigating environmental links to brain cancer cases in The Acreage.

"I don't have all the answers, but I am driven to ask the important questions," Brockovich said in a prepared statement. "I am here to advocate for full disclosure — to get the information out there for the communities that are impacted by corporate dumping and other acts of negligence."

The law firm's work is separate from that of the state health department, which in May began an investigation of the suspected cancer cluster.

State health officials in August said that cancer levels in the community could be elevated but noted that outdated population figures might have skewed findings. The Health Department has launched a second phase of study to more accurately address cancer rates and interview families of children with brain tumors or brain cancer.

Weitz & Luxenberg earlier this week said Geiger counters revealed elevated levels of radiation at 10 homes of Acreage families with brain tumors or brain cancer. The law firm hopes to have in hand lab reports analyzing the cause of the radiation by Thursday's meeting.

The state Department of Environmental Protection last week released data on 50 private wells it randomly tested in The Acreage and declared that drinking water in the community generally met Florida health standards. But four wells didn't meet drinking water standards because of elevated levels of radium or alpha particles, a measure of radiation.

Weitz & Luxenberg met with the community on Aug. 24 at Seminole Ridge High School and is returning Thursday to update residents on its work and discuss the state's findings.

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