Written by This report reconstructs the environmental and epidemiological investigation of Galion, Ohio. It incorporates the prestigious background of Dr. Theodore Ingalls, the grassroots efforts of Irene Huguenin, the industrial history of the Olentangy River, and a comparison of MS rates from the 1980s to 2026.
The Galion Multiple Sclerosis Investigation
The history of Galion, Ohio, serves as a poignant case study in the intersection of industrial prosperity and public health. For decades, this community of 12,000 residents thrived as a hub for the railroad and manufacturing industries. However, beneath the surface lay a medical mystery that would draw the attention of world-renowned researchers and spark a decade-long conflict with state health authorities.
The Harvard Doctor Who Was Convinced: Dr. Theodore Ingalls
The community found its most formidable ally in Dr. Theodore Ingalls. A physician of immense academic stature, Ingalls was a Harvard-educated professor emeritus of epidemiology at Boston University’s School of Public Health. His credentials included faculty positions at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, and he published more than 200 research papers over five decades.
Dr. Ingalls was most famously credited with helping develop the vaccine for rubella (German measles), a breakthrough that fundamentally altered pediatric health. His involvement in Galion was deeply personal; by the time he began working with the community, he was in his late 70s and suffering from multiple sclerosis himself.
Unlike his peers, who viewed MS as a random autoimmune event, Ingalls was convinced the disease was a result of environmental toxicology, specifically heavy metal poisoning. He posited that industrial waste—specifically cadmium and chromium—had contaminated the local environment to the point of causing a public health “outbreak.”
The Mercury Hypothesis: Dental Fillings and Industrial Seepage
A critical and controversial component of Dr. Ingalls’ theory involved the role of mercury in neurodegeneration. Before focusing on Galion, Ingalls published research arguing that mercury from dental amalgams (silver fillings) could leach into the body and trigger MS-like symptoms. He proposed a “slow, retrograde seepage” where mercury ions travel from the mouth or through industrial exposure into the central nervous system.
In Galion, he expanded this theory to include industrial seepage. He noted that the town’s residents were being exposed to a “toxic cocktail”: mercury from dental work combined with high levels of cadmium and chromium from the local factories. He believed these metals worked together to cross the blood-brain barrier, leading to the destruction of the myelin sheath in middle age. Ingalls even noted that MS rates were higher in northern latitudes not just because of a lack of sunlight, but because those regions historically had higher rates of tooth decay and, consequently, more mercury-based dental work.
The Genesis of a Community Crisis: Fairview Avenue
The investigation began in the quiet residential neighborhood of Fairview Avenue. Resident Irene Huguenin became the catalyst for the inquiry after her son, Terry, was diagnosed with MS in 1974 at age 29.
Huguenin noticed a pattern that defied statistical probability: two of Terry’s school friends, born within 18 months of him and raised on the same block of Fairview Avenue, were diagnosed within the same 18-month window. All three young men eventually died within 18 months of each other. Through church groups and neighborhood networks, Huguenin identified over 50 individuals with a Galion connection who suffered from the disease—far exceeding the 10 to 20 cases predicted for a population of that size.
Industrial Roots and Environmental Warnings
Galion’s growth was driven by the railroad and a robust manufacturing sector, including a high concentration of electroplating and metal finishing businesses. These industries utilized heavy metals and toxic chemicals in daily operations.
In the 1980s, a massive fish kill occurred in ponds fed by the Olentangy River, which flows through Galion. While the Ohio EPA focused on the fish, subsequent testing of the river water detected cadmium, copper, and chromium at levels exceeding safe thresholds. To residents, the dead fish were the “canaries in the coal mine.”
A central focus was the Former South Side Plating Facility. Operating from 1971 until 1986, the facility specialized in electroplating and utilized acids, cyanide, and chromate solutions. Records reveal a pattern of systemic environmental mismanagement:
- Spent plating solutions were discharged directly into the city’s sanitary sewer system.
- Cyanide stripping operations were conducted outdoors, with toxic sludges disposed of directly onto the soil in a residential neighborhood.
- It took until 2019–2020 for the Ohio EPA to finally remediate the site, removing 552.5 tons of contaminated soil, 193 tons of which was classified as hazardous waste.
The Decade-Long Conflict: 1982–1992
The investigation remains one of the most contentious episodes in Ohio’s public health history, pitting grassroots observations and Dr. Ingalls’ toxicological theories against the statistical methodologies of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH).
Dr. Ingalls’ View on the State’s Dismissal
Dr. Ingalls was highly critical of the state’s dismissal of the cluster. He argued that the state was using “static epidemiology”—broad numbers over a long period—to ignore a “dynamic outbreak” happening in real-time.
In his final study, Ingalls directly challenged the state’s medical opinion:
- Point-Source Logic: He argued that the cases were geographically tethered to the Olentangy River and industrial waste sites, not “sporadic” as the state claimed.
- The Clinical Evidence: He stated that because heavy metals are “neuro-seekers,” they would not be found in the blood of long-term MS patients. He believed the state’s reliance on blood tests was a fundamental medical error.
- The “Dilution” Rebuttal: He accused the state of “statistical dilution” by expanding the study area to include Polk Township. He argued that including 3,000 unaffected rural residents was an “apples to oranges” comparison designed to make a crisis look like a statistical average.
The State Response (1987–1991)
Led by Robert Indian, the ODH study concluded that Galion did not have a statistically significant cluster. The ODH admitted to losing the original paperwork and patient lists collected by residents, which delayed the study by years. By the time it was finalized, many of the individuals Huguenin had identified had already died and were excluded from the data.
MS Rates: 1982 vs. 2026 Comparison
To understand the significance of the Galion investigation, we compare the historical rates to modern regional and national averages.
In the 1980s, Galion’s rate was approximately 416 per 100,000 residents, nearly seven times the national average of 60 per 100,000. Ohio’s regional average at the time was roughly 70 per 100,000.
By 2026, national rates have risen to approximately 300 per 100,000 due to better diagnostic tools, and Ohio remains a high-prevalence “hot spot” at roughly 330 per 100,000. Modern Galion rates have largely “normalized” to approximately 310 per 100,000, matching the high regional average following the closure of heavy industry and the 2020 soil remediation.
Conclusion: The Legacy of Vigilance
The Galion MS investigation concludes with a quiet, lingering uncertainty. While the state never officially recognized the cluster, the 2020 removal of hazardous soil from a residential plating facility provided a belated validation of the concerns raised by Dr. Ingalls and Irene Huguenin decades ago. The lesson of Galion is one of vigilance, reminding us that the secrets to understanding modern disease may be buried in the contaminated soils of our industrial past.
Works Cited (Click Here)
- Clustering of Multiple Sclerosis in Galion, Ohio, 1982-1985 PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2782299/
- Stonewall Cleveland Scene: https://www.clevescene.com/news/stonewall-1482255/
- Declaration: Site Name and Location – Former South Side Plating Facility 963 Edwards Street, Galion, Crawford County, Ohio (OHD064102): Decision Document
- Rubella Vaccine and Medical Policymaking ScholarWorks at UMass Boston: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1205&context=nejpp
- Epidemiology, Etiology, and Prevention of Multiple Sclerosis: Hypothesis and Fact PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6837537/
- Annual Report – Ohio EPA Ohio.gov: 2021 Annual Report
- Village of Wellington – Health Consultation CDC/ATSDR: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/pha/villageofwellington031705-oh/villageofwellington031705-oh.pdf
- Biological and Water Quality Study of the Olentangy River, Whetstone Creek and Select Tributaries, 2003-2004 Olentangy Watershed: Full Report
- Biological and Water Quality Study of the Upper Olentangy River and Selected Tributaries Ohio EPA: 1994 Report
- Heavy Metal Concentrations in Ohio River Sediments: Longitudinal and Temporal Patterns Knowledge Bank (OSU): Research Access