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. According to the Associated Press, a simple classroomdemonstrationof a Geiger counter resulted in panic when the radiation detectorshowed troubling results when a loud clamor was heard over a rock. I hope the state will treat the school the same way because now we have kids who are susceptible receptors involved, and the teachers too," she said. The perception of a cluster in a community may be as important as, or more important than, an actual cluster, the C.D.C. 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. After 2nd grade, my wife attended parochial school until high school, where she attended CHS. I need your help Facebook. The Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection are now leading the investigation into the high instances of brain tumor diagnoses among Colonia High School students and staff. 100 families having to be told the terrible news. 2023 www.mycentraljersey.com. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection building. Even more troubling? Even if evidence is black and white, its hard to convince people of something they arent prepared to believe, said Robert Laumbach, a professor of public health at Rutgers University who is leading a federal study of forever chemicals in Gloucester County, in southwestern New Jersey. Here are some tips. So, if not the neighborhood, what was the link? Here's What to Know About Bruce Willis' Diagnosis, The Wanted's Tom Parker Dies at 33 After Brain Tumor Battle, Next Winter Storm May Bring Even More Snow to NYC Area This Week: What to Know. Al Lupiano, a 1989 Colonia High School graduate, has developed a list of nearly 120 people who were students, teachers or staff members at the school who have developed brain tumors.Lupiano's . America today woke up to the news that brain cancer has been detected in more than 100 former students at a New Jersey . Email tips toaudrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants. Thats 100 people with their life forever changed. "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. About one in three people will develop cancer over a lifetime, and one in five will die from it. But many in the community do not accept them. Lupiano, an environmental scientist who tested ground samples for toxins over the course of his 33-year career, has suggested that the school's grounds could be contaminated, pointing to Middlesex, New Jersey, sampling plant as a potential linking factor behind the 100-plus tumors. 3/16 UPDATE: Since I created this post a week ago, the most frequent question I am asked is, Is there something I can do and do you need my help?. Al Lupiano, a 1989 Colonia High School graduate, has developed a list of nearly 120 people who were students, teachers or staff members at the school who have developed brain tumors.Lupiano's sister, a Colonia High School grad, died with a malignant brain tumor in February and both he and his wife, who also is a Colonia High School grad, developed brain tumors. Lupiano, an environmental scientist, said he has confirmed 65 cases of people with rare brain tumors, adding the common denominator is they were all Colonia High School graduates or had worked there. 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. He received his . Lupiano and his wife, also is a Colonia High School grad, also developed brain tumors. Al Lupiano, a Colonia High School graduate is on a mission to answer that question after discovering more than 80 fe. "Seven weeks we've been waiting for them to take a drive from Edison [New Jersey] to Colonia, New Jersey. "I started doing some research and the three became five, the five became seven, the seven became 15," Lupiano said. Angela M. DeCillis, a Colonia High School graduate, Class of '95. Radiation tests are being carried out at a New Jersey high school where over 100 former students and staff are reported to have developed brain tumors and cancerand the . High School Lost My Transcript 16 /r/applyingtocollege, 2023-02-20, 17:42:41 Stage IV update 15 /r/pancreaticcancer . This list too has grown quickly and is now 24 individuals. And experts have been able to identify a clear cause in only a tiny percentage of those. Its very hard to pinpoint what it is that initiated that process.. Ive reached out to both the news and local newspapers, but have not received any interest. Early testing at the Woodbridge school by a consultant for the . All the testing, both by Komorek and the district, came after 108 people from over a period of three decades ending in the early 2000s who attended the school were diagnosed with brain tumors. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, While I am thrilled to have the information coming in again, its also very troubling to see the numbers continue to grow. Above, Jason Wisinski, with his daughter, Haylee, lost his wife and sister-in-law, both Colonia High alumnae, to primary brain tumors. McCormac said both commissioners acknowledged they received the township's email and he hopes to hear back from them soon. Lupiano was diagnosed with a rare and abnormally large brain tumour Acoustic Neuroma (AN) in 1999 when he was just 27 years old. Ultimately, if it isnt a radiation source that is causing these illnesses, Lupiano says other tests can be done to pinpoint a cause. A cancer survivor is vowing to untangle the twisted mystery of why almost 100 people associated with a New Jersey high school have developed "extremely" rare malignant brain tumors. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. For those who dont know me, my name is Al Lupiano and I graduated CHS class of 89. "[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. More than 100 former students and staff at the school have been diagnosed . Colonia High School (Google Maps) Middlesex County's Colonia High School, located in Woodbridge, has made national headlines in recent weeks after over 100 former students and faculty were found . She also suggested air sampling be done with closed windows to make sure indoor air is not diluted. More than 100 people who graduated from Colonia High School have developed brain cancer. "The Departments stand ready to assist Woodbridge in reviewing any environmental data it collects to determine appropriate next steps. The New Jersey Departments of Health (DOH) and Environmental Protection (DEP) say they are involved in an investigation into the apparent cancer cluster, though Lupiano says he has not received requests for information from either agency. T+M Associates, an environmental engineering firm, was asked to investigate a link between the school and brain cancer last month. 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. Lupiano promised his dying sister to dig for the root of the brain cancers apparently linked to the high school. Rohit Ranjan. If you were affected or have a tumor or rare cancer, I need your assistance. Market data provided by Factset. State your name, what you were diagnosed with, when, and what year you graduated CHS or worked there. (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. While the death rate from cancer is dropping, thanks to improving treatments and early detection, the total number of cancer cases in the United States is expected to rise by 50 percent compared with 2015 cases, in large part because of aging populations. Some workers, such as miners and firefighters, are exposed to known carcinogens during their careers. 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. 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 . Trinity was led by Mike Bednostin who had a game-high 24 points. Both sisters graduated from Colonia High School, just like Al Lupiano in 1989, his wife Michelle in 1991, and his sister, Angela Decillis in 1995. "I wasn't happy and I knew that they didn't do enough sampling, didn't test soil, groundwater tests for PCBs," Komorek said. He concedes no soil or dust samples were collected when the township conducted its own tests, but adds that Komoreks findings need further validation. Ms. Renault is a health and science journalist. 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. 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. By Sean Adams, WCBS Newsradio 880. Our children and Colonia High School staff deserve more involvement of the State and Federal agencies. The sizes of neighborhood clusters are often too small to yield statistically significant results. See Al Luciano's entire NJSpotlight interview below. When the state health department calculated the number of brain and other nervous system tumors that would be expected among the cohort of students and staff from 1968 to 2021, it concluded it could be up to 120 individuals just slightly under Mr. Lupianos count of about 125 (though he believes his tally is an undercount). Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Would love your thoughts, please comment. World News Posted by Amit Chaturvedi Updated: April 15, 2022 12:33 pm IST. ", 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. The facility, which includes several buildings on 9.6 acres, was an entry point for African uranium ores known as pitchblende. There are hundreds more probable carcinogens of varying ubiquity under study, such as pesticides, parasites, night shifts and indoor fires. Secondary brain tumors, which originate elsewhere in the body and then spread to the brain, are more common. Cancer does not awaken all at once. 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 television station reported that testing is ongoing. (Gosselin Funeral Home) In August 2021, DeCillis received . At the time, medium lifespan for her type of tumor was 18 months. Ive also started a sublist of what I am classifying as cases of interest due to several anomalies. That means we have an incident rate of 15 cases out of 5,000 people. All rights reserved. Questions, corrections, or comments? The designation is the first, prerequisite step on the path toward a full-throated response, from investigation to cleanup and remediation and, potentially, legal recourse. A part of the campus is named for Pat Barbato - a longtime football coach . That could look like presenting the public with clearer timelines of an investigations course of action, creating portals to gather community feedback and encouraging two-way communications from the start., After all, there has been a long history of patients serving as a critical warning system for epidemiology, with concerned residents having alerted public health officials to mercury poisoning diseases, birth defects caused by rubella, and toxic drinking water contaminants. His . 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. Frequently, in hazmat, you never find it in the first shot," Lupiano said. This helps explain why cluster investigations so often fail to arrive at a satisfying conclusion. Al Lupiano, speaking to CBS2, said the rare brain tumors were discovered in people who attended Colonia High School. "Nothing indicates that the school building or property is unsafe," he added. When childrens health and lives are at stake, we have a right to demand your full attention and transparency.". 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. 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. 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. 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. However, the agency accepts a greater responsibility for helping communities cope with this uncertainty and the lack of resolution that often characterizes these investigations. Lupiano, his wife . 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. 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. Several people raised questions to me about the state health departments analysis. (Google Maps). Im 99.99 percent convinced.. Posted: Feb 28, 2023 / 02:45 PM EST. Officials also reviewed local data on naturally occurring radioactive deposits and followed up on reports of a radioactive rock discovered in a science classroom in 1997. The numbers of primary brain tumors continues (unfortunate) to rise as the story has gone national. It confers such chaos into the people who are affected by it.. New Jersey dad fights to have daughter returned to the U.S. NJ state budget delivers another crushing blow to residents (Opinion), Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and EEO Report. Sadly, several have already died. I am asking for your help! Colonia High School was reportedly the common denominator among those suffering from the tumors Credit: CBS NEW YORK. The school has stayed open, with local officials apparently telling parents that "at this time, there is no discernable health or wellness threat to students, staff, or visitors at Colonia High School," according to the petition writers. V Th Su High School. Colonia High School in New Jersey has seen more than 100 students and staff diagnosed with cancer over the last 30 years. Several news agencies have reached out to me and I anticipate the completed articles and interviews will be released shortly. The investigation wasnt thorough enough, residents argue, and didnt involve water testing or analysis of the soil beyond radiological tests. Why? WOODBRIDGE - Results are expected in a few weeks from recent soil and air testing at Colonia High School, following last month's finding of toxic chemicals linked to cancer and pesticides . Middlesex Sampling Plant to Colonia High School in New Jersey. Why Al Lupiano raised alarm over Colonia HS cancer links Is it a cancer cluster or a coincidence? So it's not unheard of. Our meetings with the State and Feds. The states health department calculated it would be statistically ordinary for about 120 former students and staff members to have developed brain tumors in the decades since the school was built in 1967. What we were not prepared for was for the state to say, Were satisfied, after doing one simple test, Mr. Lupiano said. Print |. It is his belief my wife and I may be the first documented case of spouses having an AN, both roughly the same size and on the same side of the headaccording to him, the odds are maybe 1 in a BILLION. . On April 10, Mr. Lupiano's list of former students and staff members with primary brain tumors hit 100 names. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. During the freshman orientation for parents, she collected a dust sample inside a bathroom which came back positive for polychlorinated biphenyls also known as PCBs, which have been linked to cancer in humans. We recognized that communication guidance was an area that warranted attention, said Patrick Breysse, director of the C.D.C.s National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, in an email statement. My wife Michele class of 91. We need an investigation! One month later, Mayor McCormac echoed this sentiment to me: Its frustrating that people who hoped that there was no radiation on the site now are upset that theres not, he said. Aside from being the home of the NHL's NJ Devils, they also attract major music acts ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Fall Out Boy to Justin Bieber. There are PCBs everywhere," he said. So when officials declared earlier this year that ground penetrating radar tests on the grounds of Colonia High School concluded there was no dangerous or carcinogenic radiation there, she took matters into her own hands. Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. When faced with terminal disease, people often look for an overarching explanation as a way to cope with an unbearable reality. Al Lupiano, his sister and his wife are among the 115 people from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey that he has determined have had a brain tumor. In addition to leaning less heavily on statistical significance, the federal agencys new updates also call for an evolution in the interpersonal aspects of a cluster investigation. 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. 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