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Woodbridge Mayor John McCormack told the outlet that his office initiated conversations with the Woodbridge Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Agency for Toxic Substance Disease Registry about opening investigations into potential radiation exposure stemming from the high school's campus. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The question is why? The community suspects a cancer cluster, and would like it investigated, and I think thats a very reasonable request. Schools Brain Tumor Link To Colonia High School 'Credible,' Town's Mayor Says A scientist's theory that a contaminant at the Woodbridge school is linked to 65 rare brain tumors is being taken . I have a really bad feeling were going to find contamination beyond the high school. Is it a cancer cluster or a coincidence? On the exact same day, Lupianos younger sister, Angela DeCillis, another alumna of Colonia, learned that she too had brain cancer. His wife Michelle graduated in 1991. The four-year high school has more than 1,300 students. He believes something at the high school in one of the more suburban and affluent sections of the township is responsible for dozens of brain cancer cases. In a statement to CBS News, Lupiano said he is "anxiously awaiting the results of the two-week-long radiological survey which concluded this weekend" and he anticipates he will receive the results in weeks. While the family had hoped to move forward following the operation, tests . All rights reserved, mysterious cluster of brain tumors dating back decades, He's looking for a place to host the screenings in early June, NJ Parents Demand Swifter Action in School Cancer Probe After 100+ Brain Tumors Diagnosed, Cancer Cluster Probe at NJ HS Underway After 100+ Diagnosed With Brain Tumors, Next Winter Storm May Bring Even More Snow to NYC Area This Week: What to Know, 4 Ferraris Stolen on Long Island in Service Center Heist. "It seems like in a little over a 20-year period to have 65 people on a list is somewhat alarming, it's quite alarming," said the mayor, who lives blocks away from Colonia High School, but added the link only appears to pertain to people who attended or worked at the high school. DeCillis passed away at the age of 44 from a rare form of brain cancer. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. McCormac has also reached out toU.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J 6th District. The authorities will be conducting radiological assessments across the school's 28-acre campus, including the testing of indoor air samples for radon. Earlier this year, Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist and Colonia High School graduate, discovered more than 115 people who spent time at the school had a rare brain tumor. All rights reserved. "It was clearly alarming enough that it merited further attention and I just helped him get that attention. Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist, began. Al Lupiano graduated from the Middlesex County school in 1989. While the exact number of former faculty and staff diagnosed with glioblastoma is not precisely known, the cancer is exceedingly rare. 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The vast majority of those who have developed brain tumors graduated between 1975 and 2000, although outliers have come as recently as a 2014 graduate, according to the Star-Ledger. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. 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. The Anti-Defamation League said the phrase at the center of the question was popularized as a trolling campaign by members of 4chan a notorious anonymous message board and was adopted by . Janice's sister Chery Black also died from brain cancer in 2015. It is the type of brain tumor that Arizona Sen. John McCain died from in 2018. This is only one of many, many tests that can be performed. If we dont find anything, we have to start looking at other potential candidates, whether its chemicals or something in the soil or air. To find something like this is a significant discovery, Dr. Sumul Raval, one of New Jerseys top neuro-oncologists, told the outlet. 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. He initially found 15 people, allColonia High School graduates from around 1975 to 1995, had them, he said. That decades-long stretch ended in the early 2000s, but recent. The review article looked at 567 cancer cluster investigations over 20 years. 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Woodbridge Mayor John McCormick told CBS New York the school, which was built in 1967, was built on "virgin land" in the woods. In 1999, at age 27, he was diagnosed with a large, benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma. "Al has presented enough evidence that warrants further attention, but we have to rely on the experts to draw their conclusions.". also a graduate of the high school, died recently from brain cancer. Laumbach argued that thousands of suspected cancer clusters throughout the country dont meet federal government standards for that designation even if they are investigated by public health experts. This is terrific news for the current students of Colonia High School and their parents, who worried about their safety, along with current staff members, and is also great news for all former students who attended and staff who worked at Colonia High School.. The cancer was diagnosed years after these students graduated or worked at Colonia High School in Woodbridge. Almost 100 people from the very same New Jersey high school have all developed brain tumors. As a Rutgers University graduate with a major in environmental sciences and a minor inindustrial hygiene safety engineering, he's made a career of cleaning up unsafe sites. Lupiano was diagnosed with a rare and abnormally large brain tumour Acoustic Neuroma (AN) in 1999 when he was just 27 years old. "This is terrific news for the current students of Colonia High School and their parents who worried about their safety, along with current staff members. The investigation was jumpstarted after it was discovered more 122 people once connected to the school had a primary brain tumor and another 75 were diagnosed with other rare forms of cancer, according to NJ.com. McCormack said the town wants local and federal involvement in the investigation. In 1999, when he was just 27, Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor for someone his age called Acoustic Neuroma (AN). The study was to see if the area possibly had radiological contaminants that would contribute to diagnoses of brain cancers and other central nervous system tumors or disorders among these alumni, teachers and current students. Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor in 1999 when he was 27 called Acoustic Neuroma. Since the initial post, Lupiano has published a list of 115 people who attended or worked at Colonia and were diagnosed with a primary brain tumor, according to news reports. Normally speaking, you dont get radiation in a high school unless something is going on in that area that we dont know, Raval added, calling for an immediate investigation. More than 100 former Colonia High School students and staff have been diagnosed with brain cancer over a 30-year period. A former Woodbridge man has identified 84 Colonia High School alumni and former staffers with rare brain tumors and wants health officials to investigate. World News Posted by Amit Chaturvedi Updated: April 15, 2022 12:33 pm IST. Colonia High School is now the subject of radiation detecting research. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. He has reached out to the state Department of Health, Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry for help which is reportedly still in the early stages, according to the CBS News report. 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," Lupiano said. Many of the former staff and teachers included in the total lived outside Woodbridge Township making the high school, so far, the only clear link. He says if there is something going on, he worries about all of the people that would be impacted. DeCillis passed away at the age of 44 from a rare form of brain cancer. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "While we have not yet determined if any contaminant is present, the only link up to this point is that everyone spent a significant amount of time at the school," Lupiano wrote in his Facebook post. Phil Murphy, whose administration has also been pushed to get more involved, recently described the tumor cluster as disturbing but echoed Woodbridge Township officials in stressing it was too soon to make definitive conclusions about the cause. Because cancer clusters are often suspected in very small subpopulations like neighborhoods, apartment buildings or homes on the same side of the street they can be very difficult to establish, Platz said. Now, he's gone public with the suggestion that Colonia could be one such site. Al Lupiano is among the 94 former staff and students from Colonia High School in the Woodbridge Township School District who have been stricken by the devastating diagnoses in recent years. I dont think this is the end of the story. "This is only the tip of the iceberg. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Because I dont think its right to say theres no threat to teachers and students if you didnt take a single soil or groundwater sample.. "It's too important. 55, for example, died from glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, in 2016 after graduating in 1981. Today we are very happy to announce that our extensive testing for both radon and radiation in the interior and exterior of the school building produced no evidence of cancer-causing hazards that warrant further investigation, said Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac during the press conference posted on the townships Youtube page. We've received your submission. "But I understand why anyone would be concerned. Lupiano is wondering whether some of that soil ended up on the school grounds. I still dont know what Im going to do with my kids, Komorek told NJ.com. "There could be a real problem here, and our residents deserve to know if there are any dangers," Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac said in a statement carried by the New York Post. "Today we are very happy to announce that our extensive testing for both radon and radiation, in the interior and exterior, of the school produced no evidence of any cancer-causing hazards that warrant further investigation," McCormac said. I've tried to give back over the last 20 years.". According to the National Cancer Institute, "cases of cancer can appear to cluster even when there is no connection among them." Here's the latest for Wednesday April 6th: More sanctions against Russia expected; Zelenskyy warns that Russian troops are regrouping; Second Sacramento suspect under arrest; Severe storms from Texas to South Carolina. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. A single New Jersey man has uncovered a medical mystery apparently linking 100 people diagnosed with rare cancers or tumors to a Woodbridge high school. The last case was a while ago, like 2000," Kapadia said. Al Lupiano first sent public nearly two months ago about concerns of a cancer cluster related to Colonia High School. Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor in 1999 when he was 27 called Acoustic Neuroma. "I'm getting reports of whole blocks in and around the neighborhood, that they call themselves 'Cancer Alley,'" Lupiano said. "They'll have the means to do air sampling, water sampling and soil sampling," Lupiano told New Jersey 101.5. He had developed 'rare' brain tumor some 20 years ago. Published on Apr 08, 2022 Al Lupiano and his wife, Michele, at their home in Jamesburg,. Why is the cancer that killed John McCain so deadly? (Exposure to certain types of radiation can increase the risk of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.) Lupiano also suggested a potential link between Colonia High School and a Middlesex, New Jersey, sampling plant in his interview with NJ Spotlight. Please enter valid email address to continue. T&M Associates already started conducting historic site research to obtain records related to the school's construction in1967 to today. They will remain in place for 14 days before being sent to a lab for analysis. Its overwhelming. According to American Association of Neurological Surgeons, glioblastoma is normally extremely rare with an incidence of 3.21 per 100,000 people. The analysis took several weeks. An investigation has been launched after more than 100 people who attended a high school in New Jersey appeared to contract a rare cancer. (Gosselin Funeral Home) In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. She holds a bachelor's degree in biotechnology from theUniversity of Kentucky and master's degrees in food technology from Aarhus University and journalism from New York University. By that time, we hope the federal agencies are going to take over. They were very appreciative that we reached out to them but they were not interested in getting involved, and they kept trying to pass it off, and saying they will have to do research and get back to you, he said, referring to the New Jersey agency. ", Rick Rickman is the news assistant at New Jersey 101.5. I am being told Lupiano, who graduated from the school in 1989, himself was diagnosed 20 years ago and said he still suffers lingering issues, CBS New York reports. (Gosselin Funeral Home) In August 2021, DeCillis received . An investigation into a possible brain cancer cluster found no evidence a New Jersey school was the cause of tumors diagnosed in former students, officials declared Thursday. . 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. 94 people from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey are part of a cancer cluster of still unknown origin. But in 2021, his wife and sister, also graduates of Colonia, were both diagnosed with rare brain tumors, according to NJ Spotlight News. It is possible that soil from the plant had been trucked to Colonia High School during its construction in 1967, NJ Spotlight reported. In 1981 people, allColonia High school have all developed brain cancer April 15, 12:33... Been launched after more than 1,300 students the outlet at age 27, al Lupiano graduated from High... 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