A consultant will be testing the grounds at Colonia High School, New Jersey, amid concerns that the school is linked to a high rate of rare brain cancers. ( NewsNation) An investigation is underway at a New Jersey high school that could potentially be linked to what's known as a cancer cluster. In the 1980[s], 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," the USACE New York Division's website states. I have requested a discussion with the Department of Health, and if need be, we can involve the Federal agencies. Komorek said the superintendent thanked her for her research and said a consultant would have to review her findings. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano is among 94 former students and staff from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, who have been diagnosed with rare brain tumors. Whether it be for a sporting event, concert, or other popular event, there's a good chance you'll be making your way to the Newark arena dubbed 'The Rock' at some point in the near future. She also suggested air sampling be done with closed windows to make sure indoor air is not diluted. Al Lupiano, a former Colonia High School student, Pop-punk band New Found Glory playing rare performance near NJ, The cast of Home Improvement what they look like now, Bristol Palin on the mend after 9th breast augmentation, There is now a 24-hour Rocky TV channel, Gisele Bundchens post-Tom Brady magazine cover fuels satanic panic, These Speciale meatballs named best balls in New Jersey, Reward yourself! For a community desperate for sense-making answers, it may be a bitter truth: There is more cancer around us than we can comprehend, and yet not enough to make scientific sense of. "I don't think this is the end of the story. Ive requested a few pieces of historical data, trying to determine the history of the site prior to the construction of the HS. Legal Statement. Thats why scientists and responders bear a great responsibility when it comes to helping citizens navigate uncertainty around a disease like cancer, which on its own can feel random and inexplicable. On the same day, his sister, Angela, learned she had a fast-growing malignant tumor, also on the left side of her brain. Parents are trying to get authorities to investigate these clusters and to discern what caused the disease patterns. Lupiano started the quest for answers, using Facebook to compile similar cases of people who worked or were students at Colonia High School. A Record of Decision (ROD) for Soils was signed September 2005. In 1999, I too was diagnosed with a very rare brain tumor on my left side. The site received uranium, thorium and beryllium ores from the 1940s until 1967, at which time the facility was decontaminated to the standards in effect at the time. said Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac. On April 15, 2022, Lupiano wrote on Facebook. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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). The high school was evacuated and a HAZMAT team secured the rock in a lead-lined box. An estimated 165,000 cattle and calves were placed on feed during January 2023, 14 percent above last month but down 17 percent from the January 2022 placements. Chu Vn An High School. A part of the campus is named for Pat Barbato - a longtime football coach . "Also, records later revealed that in 1948, some radioactively contaminated materials had been trucked from the plant to the Middlesex Municipal Landfill (MML), one-half mile away. I discovered 15 people from our circle of friends and their family members and friends had been diagnosed with brain tumors! Since discovering three individuals in my family were diagnosed with very rare brain tumors, and all about the same size and on the same side of our head, I needed to find a link. They asked us to do this, and we did it. Several news agencies have reached out to me and I anticipate the completed articles and interviews will be released shortly. We did exactly what they wanted.. Findings from an environmental review did not find any evidence of cancer-causing hazards at Colonia High School. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. "[W]e have really solid data on primary brain tumors because of what we learned after World War Two, what we learned after Chernobyl," Lupiano explained. But, in order for me to take the next steps, I need the help of others. ", "They tend to leave stuff behind, and that stuff tends to migrate from one location to another. "We appreciate the NJDOH, NJDEP, ATSDR, and CDC assistance to the Woodbridge Townships environmental investigation that is currently ongoing, but strongly believe that this is not enough," the petition says in seeking the involvement of more state and federal agencies. DeCillis passed away at the age of 44 from a rare form of brain cancer. Advocates for an official investigation into fears of a "cancer cluster" at the Middlesex County high school say there are parallels to the notorious water system contamination in the Ocean County town that was blamed for more than 130 cases of childhood cancer in the 1990s. April 15, 2022 1:00 PM ET. Our children and Colonia High School staff deserve more involvement of the State and Federal agencies. In its first update to the guidelines since 2013 (which are expected to be finalized this year) the agency acknowledges that barriers to discovering and declaring true clusters remain. WOODBRIDGE TWP., New Jersey -- Al Lupiano graduated from Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey in 1989. Rohit Ranjan. (two newly discovered cases are pending further investigation). Colonia High School in New Jersey has seen more than 100 students and staff diagnosed with cancer over the last 30 years. Hng Vng High School. 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. All of them graduated from Colonia High School, and they all have brain tumors, ABC7 reported. At the time I was seeking treatment, my oncologist/neurosurgeon was astounded that someone my age (I was 27) had a tumor so large. If you were affected or have a tumor or rare cancer, I need your assistance. Assuming we follow the same statistical analysis as stated previously, over a 20-year period from 1975 1995, I estimate approximately 5,000 individuals have passed thru the hallowed halls of CHS. 3/21 UPDATE: I am scheduled to present my data to local, County, and State officials. So, if not localized exposure, and not something we inhaled or drank, what could be the link? Something is wrong here, he said. 3/25 UPDATE: The meetings with County, State, and Federal agencies are going well. However, 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. Theres something special about cancer, said Richard Clapp, a cancer epidemiologist and a professor emeritus at Boston University. While I have spent countless hours gathering data, I simply havent had enough time to get others involved. They weren't taken by a licensed remediation specialist, so I assume our consultants are going to come up with a plan to do some testing, but it will be official by state and federal testing," the mayor said. WOODBRIDGE - An extensive field investigation that included assessing Colonia High School classrooms, building materials and the 28-acre East Street campus found no radiological hazards that warrant further investigation, an environmental assessment determined. Of special note: many are former CHS teachers and staff members who didnt live in Colonia, they just worked in the school. The plant, which has since closed, is about a 30-minute drive from Colonia High School. Also, records later revealed that in 1948, some radioactively contaminated materials had been trucked from the plant to the Middlesex Municipal Landfill (MML), one-half mile away. "This is only the tip of the iceberg. This is an urgent call for actionI have two leads I am exploring on what may have caused this, but I need your help! The township does not have records dating back to 55 years ago, the site noted. To summarize, primary brain tumors of this type have an incidence rate of between 10-30 out of 1,000,000 individuals. 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. Font Size: Ninety-four former staff members and students from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, have developed an "extremely" rare form of malignant brain tumor, leading local officials to approve an emergency probe of the school Tuesday. On April 10, Mr. Lupiano's list of former students and staff members with primary brain tumors hit 100 names. The perception of a cluster in a community may be as important as, or more important than, an actual cluster, the C.D.C. His . My three siblings graduated class of 91, 95, and 98. Angela M. DeCillis, a Colonia High School graduate, Class of '95. HAZLE TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) James Hudock, a former chemistry teacher who was promoted to vice principal at the Hazleton Area High School . At the time, medium lifespan for her type of tumor was 18 months. And suddenly, it hit me! See Al Luciano's entire NJSpotlight interview below. His sister Angela Decillis graduated . But patience appears to be wearing thin among some in the community, judging by the petition. 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. We all of us attended Colonia High School. 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. Colonia High School is located in Colonia, New Jersey. (Google Maps), "Our agencies are aware of the concerns raised by local residents, particularly as they relate to Colonia High School, and are partnering with Mayor McCormac and Woodbridge Township to better understand the issue and determine whether any relevant environmental exposure concerns are present at the site," the DOH and DEP said in a joint statement. Al Lupiano, speaking to CBS2, said the rare brain tumors were discovered in people who attended Colonia High School. It opens up more questions, more doubts, more anxieties, more concerns, he said. Image: Unsplash. Questions, corrections, or comments? He concedes no soil or dust samples were collected when the township conducted its own tests, but adds that Komoreks findings need further validation. Lupiano promised his dying sister to dig for the root of the brain cancers apparently linked to the high school. Colonia High School . The 110 people that Lupiano has counted on his list of former Colonia High School graduates have been diagnosed with cancerous or noncancerous primary brain tumors, meaning they originated in the brain. But Mr. Lupiano said he ultimately hopes one way or another to be assured that all is as it should be. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. (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. Print |. World News Posted by Amit Chaturvedi Updated: April 15, 2022 12:33 pm IST. "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. New Brunswick, N.J., April 27, 2021 - The New Jersey State Cancer Registry (NJSCR), under the direction of the State Department of Health in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, has been awarded a seven-year, $9,085,109 contract (75N91021D00009) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI . Cancer survivor Al Lupiano says more than 100 former Colonia High School attendees have been diagnosed with rare cancers on 'Cross Country.'#FoxNews #CrossCo. (Google Maps). Others we choose exposure to: alcohol, tobacco, processed meat, tanning beds. During my research, I uncovered a shocking number of our Woodbridge Township friends and family have also been diagnosed with primary brain tumors. A cluster of brain tumors in people associated with a single New Jersey high school, Colonia High School, is causing concern. By the time students let out for the summer, the case was closed. Parents like Dawn Genoni are willing to wait for those results -- at least at the time Genoni spoke to News 4 last month. We need an investigation! For the past six months, Ive spent hundreds of hours scouring the internet and speaking to people about brain tumors. An alumnus of Colonia High School in Woodbridege, N.J. is investigating his former high school, claiming he has counted 115 people who attended or worked there to have had a rare brain tumor . In 1999, when he was just 27, Lupiano was diagnosed with a rare, benign brain tumor for someone his age called Acoustic Neuroma (AN). The plant received uranium, thorium and beryllium ores between the 1940s and 1967, which is the same year Colonia High School was built. Earlier this year, officials claimed that penetrating radar tests on the grounds of Colonia High School concluded . ", Lupiano eventually arrived at a single linking factor between himself, his wife and his sister: they each attended Colonia High School in Woodbridge in the 1990s. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Lupiano, who is also an environmental scientist, and his wife Michelle-- both graduates of the high school -- were diagnosed with benign brain tumors 20 years apart. Local and federal environmental agencies say they are assisting the town of Woodbridge, New Jersey, in its investigation into more than 100 graduates of the same high school that have been diagnosed with rare brain tumors. Trinity was led by Mike Bednostin who had a game-high 24 points. A few weeks ago, we very suddenly and tragically lost my 44-year-old sister Angela (CHS-95) to a very rare and highly aggressive malignant glioma brain tumor (Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM)) discovered on her left side. I had told my sister from the very beginning that there was too much of a coincidence that me, my wife and her all have the same tumor, said Lupiano to ABC 7. Here are the best chocolates in New Jersey. "I started doing some research and the three became five, the five became seven, the seven became 15," Lupiano said. Thats not body cancers and general tumorsthats 80 rare primary brain tumors! In 1999, the Corps prepared an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) to address the Vicinity Property (VP) pile remaining at the site. Colonia High School Brain Tumors: New Jersey Cancer Cluster Causes Concern, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. "I dont know that we know enough yet to be definitive in terms of causation, et cetera.". The victims all went to Colonia High School in Woodbridge in New Jersey . Remedial Action in accordance with this ROD was completed in FY08. All of the cases have ties to Colonia High School, either as students or employees. 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