The Army Corps of Engineers has a lengthy fact sheet on that plant. Legal Statement. A scientist and mother is demanding answers after tests she conducted found cancer-causing toxins and materials were present at the school where more than 100 former students have since been diagnosed with brain tumors. At the time, medium lifespan for her type of tumor was 18 months. Im optimistic we may see action in the next few days. Even so, these constraints do not relieve public health departments from their duty to do all they can to address their constituents concerns even if they cant deliver definitive answers and even if they are under strain themselves. Al Lupiano, a Colonia High School graduate is on a mission to answer that question after discovering more than 80 fellow graduates from the Woodbridge Township school developed the same rare brain tumor and graduated between the years 1975 to 1995. Prove to us theres nothing, he said. A former Woodbridge man has identified 84 Colonia High School alumni and former staffers with rare brain tumors and wants health officials to investigate. Nearly 100 Former Students and Staff From Colonia High School Develop Brain Tumors And thats not the case. Earlier this year, 1989 Colonia High School graduate Al Lupiano developed a list of more than 120 people who were students, teachers or staff members at the school from the 1970s to 1990s who have apparently developed brain tumors, including his sister who died with a malignant brain tumor in February. Earlier:Some in Colonia not satisfied after no radiological hazards found at school. Since posting this a few days ago, the current number of confirmed (as of 1900 hours, 3/14) has now grown to 61 individuals. See Al Luciano's entire NJSpotlight interview below. Al Lupiano first sent public nearly two months ago about concerns of a cancer cluster related to Colonia High School. COLONIA, N.J. - Radiation tests are being done at Colonia High School in New Jersey after more than 100 people were diagnosed with rare brain tumors. People struggle to recall their past daily lives which seat they sat in during high school chemistry or where their drinking water came from five years ago. The AP participation rate at Colonia High School is 37%. Nguyn Tri High School. Gov. This list too has grown quickly and is now 24 individuals. "This is only the tip of the iceberg. Schools in North Brunswick and Trenton, as well as in Greenwich, Conn., and Northport, N.Y., were discovered to have been constructed on or near contaminated soils. Hold the phone in landscape mode. Al Lupiano, a graduate of the high school, believes there's a link between Colonia High School and brain tumors diagnosed in 108 people over a period of three decades, ending in the early 2000s. These ores, imported for use in the nations early atomic energy program, were assayed at the Middlesex Sampling Plant and then shipped to other sites for processing. My main focus is still on determining if ionizing radiation is the cause of these tumor and other rare cancers. Despite these odds, cancer cluster designations are considered crucial for both health officials interested in protecting public safety, and communities who fear theyve been exposed to cancer-causing agents. These tumors usually grow at 1 mm per yearAt 3.6 cm, my AN tumor appeared to have grown at an unprecedented rate (I had an MRI of the neck and brain a few years earlier for an unrelated issue and the tumor was not present). 3/25 UPDATE: The meetings with County, State, and Federal agencies are going well. But where did the exposure come from? Colonia High School in New Jersey has seen more than 100 students and staff diagnosed with cancer over the last 30 years. "The results we have is not something the Department of Health, or DEP, or anyone, can rely on. . Of special note: many are former CHS teachers and staff members who didnt live in Colonia, they just worked in the school. So, if you wish to help, please help me get the word out. The agencies acknowledged their concerns regarding the potential cancer cluster, but are not conducting any testing aside from radiation and radon that the Township undertook, even though the school remains open. The natural world can also pose a threat via volcanic ash or toxin-spewing fungi. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Cancer does not awaken all at once. Back in March, Colonia High graduate Al Lupiano posted his theory about possible links between brain tumors diagnoses among 1990s and early 2000s graduates of Colonia High and since then, he . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. A majority of former students of Colonia High School developed glioblastoma, a rare brain tumour. Schools Radiation Testing Underway At NJ School With Possible Cancer Link They are now doing radon air testing after a 1989 Colonia grad said he found a high number of brain cancers linked to the . They can find reasons to doubt. Was it the street or neighborhood where we grew up linking us? Like 6 Comments |. Scientists and health activists say the governments current response to disease clusters ranges from piecemeal to nonexistent.. If you were affected or have a tumor or rare cancer, I need your assistance. (Al Lupiano), Lupaino says he has witnessed, in his career, "what happens when our government and our military [are] involved with leaving a location and not being very good environmental stewards. (Google Maps). Colonia High School was reportedly the common denominator among those suffering from the tumors Credit: CBS NEW YORK. Dose, too, is a major factor. Ten L Man High School. Im 99.99 percent convinced.. The plant then "decontaminated to the standards in effect at the time," though "overlooked during decontamination were traces of radioactive materials that had been carried offsite over the years by wind and rain to yards of neighboring homes," the USACE New York Division said on its website. What we were not prepared for was for the state to say, Were satisfied, after doing one simple test, Mr. Lupiano said. As part of the demonstration, the teacher used theinstrument to test a collection of rocks stored in the closet of the science class when one of the rocks registered a reading of radioactivity. "They kind of understand," Komorek said, adding her children have to start over with new classes, teachers and schoolmates. I need your help Facebook. The situation first came to light after Colonia High School alumnus Al Lupiano identified at least 104 former students and staff who suffered from rare brain tumors and cancer. The total minority enrollment is 53%, and 34% of students are economically disadvantaged. Komorek said some studies suggest a relationship between exposure to PCBs and a greater risk of developing brain tumors. is continuing. Colonia High School 180 East Street Colonia, NJ 07067 Phone: 732-499-6500 Fax: 732-574-2575. I will not rest until I find the answer! r indicating there were no radiological hazards at Colonia High School, Some in Colonia not satisfied after no radiological hazards found at school, developed a list of more than 120 people who were students, teachers or staff members at the school from the 1970s to 1990s who have apparently developed brain tumors, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. It's going to have PCBs, they all do. It confers such chaos into the people who are affected by it.. At least one epidemiologist I spoke to for this article told me that, just glancing at the numbers, he wasnt surprised that public officials have determined Colonia was not a true cluster. I am asking for your help! The onset of brain tumors in more than one hundred people who attended or worked at Colonia High School in New Jersey has continued to baffle experts. A New Jersey town is planning to conduct environmental testing at Colonia High School after a resident discovered dozens of people connected to the school had developed rare brain tumors. Our meetings with the State and Feds. Fox News reported that the plant received uranium, thorium and beryllium ores between the 1940s and 1967, which is the same year Colonia High School was built.. The schools social media accounts have been quiet about the brain tumors. Graphic Video Captures Death of 14-Year-Old Boy on Orlando Free Fall Amusement Ride. In the '90s, the high school had another scare, this time on a much smaller scale that was ultimately ruled out as a possible concern. The plant, which has since closed, is about a 30-minute drive from Colonia High School. Three weeks ago, I made a promise to my beloved sister on her deathbed I will uncover the truth! Powered by. More than 100 former students and staff at the school have been diagnosed . "My thoughts are we should look into it, but it's what you would expect if you texted caulking from a building built in the 1960s. Al Lupiano, a 1989 graduate of the school, has identified 65 Colonia High graduates, including himself and two other members of his family, who have been diagnosed with an extremely rare brain cancer. Al Lupiano, his wife and his sister all had brain tumors. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/05/opinion/cancer-cluster-colonia-woodbridge.html. We need answers! Casey returns to the Senate after cancer surgery 11 hours ago . There's lots and lots of people calling me, saying, 'Look, I didn't go to the high school, but I live a mile away, and we call our block cancer alley. At the time I was seeking treatment, my oncologist/neurosurgeon was astounded that someone my age (I was 27) had a tumor so large. Warning signs of bile duct cancer; 4 mins ago China's real estate market in 'thirst' for credit; 5 mins ago 3 lonely constellations have companions, difficult ones have someone to show the way; 6 mins ago Le Quang Liem won a beautiful victory against the Filipino-American chess prodigy; 8 mins ago Concerned about the agency to settle land . His . Tech & Science Science Health and Medicine Brain Cancer. By Ed Browne On 4/25/22 at 11:00 AM EDT. Despite the number of cases, officials first have to determine if scientific evidence indeed indicates a connection between the school grounds and the brain tumors. "The Departments stand ready to assist Woodbridge in reviewing any environmental data it collects to determine appropriate next steps. More than 100 people from the same high school have been diagnosed with brain cancer and it is feared soil contaminated with uranium used in the first atomic bomb made them ill. Parents are trying to get authorities to investigate these clusters and to discern what caused the disease patterns. Findings from an environmental review did not find any evidence of cancer-causing hazards at Colonia High School. For the past six months, Ive spent hundreds of hours scouring the internet and speaking to people about brain tumors. Of the estimated 1,000 suspected cancer clusters reported to health departments each year, only a small fraction prove to be statistically significant cancer surges. In 1980s, the contaminated residential properties were cleaned up, and the excavated soil was stored at the site in a specially constructed pile, known as the Vicinity Properties (VP) pile. Mr. Lupianos list of former classmates and staff members at Colonia High School with primary brain tumors hit 100 in April. Theres something there, in Colonia, Mr. Wisinski said. This now makes three of us in one family with primary brain tumors all on the left side. So, why am I asking for help? WOODBRIDGE Environmental testing earlier this year indicating there were no radiological hazards at Colonia High School, despite a growing list of former students who had developed brain cancers, wasn't enough to convince one mother that more testing shouldn't be done. "We and our children deserve more! I dont believe so as we all came from different parts of the Township. Its unclear whether any of those questions will ever be answered, and if they are, how residents would receive the responses. In Woodbridge and elsewhere, unresolved concerns regardless of whether more can be done, scientifically can seed deep distrust and suspicion in suspected cluster communities. It is not unfathomable that it may have happened in Colonia, Mrs. Komorek told the board. V Trng Ton High School. And the soil was right below where the caulking is.". Of the 120 or so known carcinogens, some are inescapable, like sunshine, engine exhaust, air pollution or the asbestos still embedded in millions of older buildings. Several of these people have already died, according to Colonia High School graduate Al Lupiano, who said he was diagnosed with a primary brain tumor in 1999 in a now-viral Facebook post. Earlier this year, officials claimed that penetrating radar tests on the grounds of Colonia High School concluded . Three of the victims are Al Lupiano, his wife Michelle, and his sister Angele Decillis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a true cancer cluster must be a greater-than-expected number of cancer cases of the same type of cancer or those proven to have the same cause, within a specific population over a set time. Superintendent of Schools Joseph Massimino announced the findings Thursday in a letter to township families, following allegations . To say he was concerned when he discovered all three of us grew up in the same neighborhood is an understatement. She made it five years, said Jason Wisinski to the television station. However, the agency accepts a greater responsibility for helping communities cope with this uncertainty and the lack of resolution that often characterizes these investigations. About one in three people will develop cancer over a lifetime, and one in five will die from it. 27 /r/newjersey, 2023-02-22, 22:36:15 Permalink. This is an urgent call for actionI have two leads I am exploring on what may have caused this, but I need your help! But not all carcinogens cause cancer every time. Frequently, in hazmat, you never find it in the first shot," Lupiano said. Jason Wisinski, who lost his wife and sister-in-law, both Colonia High alumnae, to primary malignant brain tumors at the age of 38, became one of many convinced that a cluster a hyperlocal blight of cancer could explain why so many young residents were succumbing to tumors. Al Lupiano, a Colonia High School graduate is on a mission to answer that question after discovering more than 80 fe. Middlesex County's Colonia High School, located in Woodbridge, has made national headlines in recent weeks after over 100 former students and facultywere found to have been diagnosed with rare brain tumors. Never did I think when I started this post I would hit this number! "Once again we will work with the school district through our health department and our environmental consultants and make contact with the state Departments of Environmental Protection and Health to help evaluate what we were presented with and decide on a future course of action," said Mayor John E. McCormac. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Rich Strack, who taught English and philosophy at Colonia for about 30 years, likened the situation to a dark cloud hanging over the school. By the time you see a tumor in a mammogram, it may be that that tumor has been growing for six years, said Rachel Morello-Frosch, a professor of public health at the University of California, Berkeley. The analysis can back with PCBs above federal and state standards as well as pesticides that were banned in 1988," she said. Colonia High School . People who have been exposed to ionizing radiation have an increased risk of developing primary brain tumors, whether they are malignant or benign, according to the Mayo Clinic. The Township of Woodbridge took the lead in the investigation, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for testing at a school that graduated roughly 15,000 people over the last 30 years. Why Al Lupiano raised alarm over Colonia HS cancer links Is it a cancer cluster or a coincidence? Their neurologist, who has been recognized as a global leader in neurosurgery by the World Federation of Neurological Societies, has treated and been involved with tens of thousands of brain tumors in his career. According to My Central New Jersey, the mayor said the school site was vacant land until the school was built in 1967, so he believes there is little chance anything was in the ground before then, but if there is anything on site, it could have come from fill during the construction phase.. READ NEXT: Graphic Video Captures Death of 14-Year-Old Boy on Orlando Free Fall Amusement Ride. The township does not have records dating back to 55 years ago, the site noted. April 15, 2022 1:00 PM ET. And once againI couldnt do this without your help!! The victims all went to Colonia High School in Woodbridge in New Jersey . A part of the campus is named for Pat Barbato - a longtime football coach . The sizes of neighborhood clusters are often too small to yield statistically significant results. "It is not enough to address parents of operating school with suspected cancer cluster through written statements given to media outlets," the petition said. I'm exhausted. In addition the Corps disposed of 33,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil contained within the (MML) pile. People move in and out of town. All of them graduated from Colonia High School, and they all have brain tumors, ABC7 reported. There is one well documented cause of brain tumors radiation exposure. 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