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 . A copy of Lupianos list, with the names and phone numbers of victims redacted, includes some who, like Lupiano himself, graduated decades ago. He thinks the cases stem from contaminated soil, but there's no data to prove that at this point. Concerns were raised by Al Lupiano, a 1989 graduate of Colonia High School, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor along with his wife Michele and sister Angela DeCillis, both of whom had. "With that in mind, and after many weeks of work, I was able to negotiate an agreement with BTF to provide this service completely FREE of charge.". While not technically cancer, these brain tumors can grow and become life-threatening if left untreated. That decades-long stretch ended in the early 2000s, but recent. "Al has presented enough evidence that warrants further attention, but we have to rely on the experts to draw their conclusions.". It is now one of the hottest topics to be discussed on TikTok. According to Fox News, there have been instances of both malignant and benign brain tumors being discovered in former Colonia High School attendees. She worked for 16 years to help other rising nurses at Rutgers and RWJ Barnabas Health. It's due to concerns tied to graduates or staff members with brain tumors. Many more came forward after the posting, and by Thursday, the number had grown to 103, Lupiano told NJ Spotlight News. Despite the number of possible cases, officials say they must first determine if there is any scientific evidentiary connection between the school grounds and the brain tumors. "I dont know that we know enough yet to be definitive in terms of causation, et cetera.". "It was clearly alarming enough that it merited further attention and I just helped him get that attention. also a graduate of the high school, died recently from brain cancer. 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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. The township has filed an Open Public Records Act request with the state Department of Education to get files from 55 years ago when the school was built, the mayor said. (Google Maps). 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. It is possible that soil from the plant had been trucked to Colonia High School during its construction in 1967, NJ Spotlight reported. For anothertwo decades, he held similar jobs withbig companies including Lockheed Martin. 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. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano is. Middlesex Sampling Plant to Colonia High School in New Jersey. 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. Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story. 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. Over 100 former students and staff from a New Jersey high school have been diagnosed with brain tumors. Al Lupiano first sent public nearly two months ago about concerns of a cancer cluster related to Colonia High School. "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. Legal Statement. (Gosselin Funeral Home) In August 2021, DeCillis received . Its not something done to us due to bad habits.. First published on April 25, 2022 / 10:26 AM. The canisters do not poseany danger and do not emit any substance, and are routinely used in homes, businesses and schools to collect radon measurements, township officials said. / CBS New York. Colonia High School A cluster of brain tumors and cancer in people associated with a single New Jersey high school is causing concern. A man investigating his former high school in New Jersey says he has counted 115 people who attended or worked there have had a rare brain tumor. The plant received uranium, thorium and beryllium ores between the 1940s and 1967, which is the same year Colonia High School was built. 100 PEOPLE WITH RARE TUMORS WHO ATTENDED SAME NEW JERSEY HIGH SCHOOL DEMAND ANSWERS The 110 people that Lupiano has counted on his list of former Colonia High School graduates have been. Mystery as 100 people associated with . Colonia High School is now the subject of radiation detecting research. While the exact number of former faculty and staff diagnosed with glioblastoma is not precisely known, the cancer is exceedingly rare. Colonia High School in New Jersey has seen more than 100 students and staff diagnosed with cancer over the last 30 years. His sister died from it in February. Lupiano said he has had meetings with county, state and federal agencies, which he said in a March 25 post "are going well.". Lupiano said. He alleges that some contaminated soil was removed from the site when it closed down in 1967 the same year Colonia High School was built. The City of Woodbridge has hired experts to conduct radiation tests inside school buildings and on school grounds, according to NJ Spotlight News. But doubts that the tumor cases represent a cancer cluster are unwarranted, said Lupiano, who predicted strong protests in the Woodbridge community if state and federal authorities dont start a formal investigation soon. The work will be done in cooperation with Woodbridge School District. America today woke up to the news that brain cancer has been detected in more than 100 former students at a New Jersey high school. Hours after Deciliis got her diagnosis, Lupiano's wife Michelereceived similar news. He has continued to update followers on social media and on Thursday, said the list stood at 115 people who had either malignant or benign tumors. If we dont find anything, we have to start looking at other potential candidates, whether its chemicals or something in the soil or air. That's when Lupiano started looking into the connection. Out of roughly 10,000 people, having more than five dozen cases of brain tumors and cancers is far above the average. 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. 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. 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. In 1999 when Lupiano was 27, he too was diagnosed with a large acoustic neuroma on the left side of his brain. Were all concerned, and we all want to get to the bottom of this. Over 122 people connected to Colonia High School were found to have brain tumors. The devoted brother promised his sister on her deathbed that he would get to the bottom of what was causing the apparent cancer cluster at Colonia High. New York, And all three were diagnosed with rare forms of brain cancers or tumors on the left side of their brains. #braincancer #glioblastoma #braintumor #radiation #medicalmystery #doctor. "We continue receiving lip service, that we're here to help, but when we look around, they are nowhere to be found.". At the end of the study we are either going to know if there is a problem linked to radiation or not, he said. I will not rest until I have answers, Lupiano, 50, declared in an interview with NJ.com and the Star-Ledger on Thursday. You can also see how much the average bill changed from 2020. "I started doing some research and the three became five, the five became seven, the seven became 15," he told CBS News York. We've received your submission. It's the largest oil spill cleanup company in the United States. Initially, he found 15 people who attended the high school and were diagnosed with a primary brain tumor, meaning a tumor that originates in the brain, according to NBC Today. 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. An environmental study of Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey that took place after 94 former students and staff developed brain tumors found no evidence of "cancer . Since last August, Lupiano has spent countless hours trying to find other people linked to CHS with primary brain cancers. His wife. 'It can't be a coincidence': Colonia High School community probes mysterious cancer cases, Piscataway man convicted of exploiting daughters college peers after moving into dorm, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Brain cancer is rare, being detected in about one in 15,000 . The program will take real-time measurements of radiation inside and outside the building, the town said. Lupiano launched the bid after his sister passed away from the disease and his wife too was diagnosed with the exact same form of aggressive tumour glioblastoma. The four-year high school has more than 1,300 students. What It Said, "Playing For Country": Gavaskar Blasts Gill For Calling Physio Mid-Over, Inside "World's Most Ultra-Luxury Resort", At $100,000 A Night, "I'm Not Their Target, You": Manish Sisodia's Resignation Letter, Video: Delhi Building's Dramatic Collapse After Fire, "Will Continue To Impose Sanctions On Russia": US Treasury Secretary, Chicago's 1st Openly Gay, Black Woman Mayor Loses Re-Election, Will Blow Up Mukesh Ambani, Amitabh Bachchan Bungalows, Caller To Cops, Think Tank CPR's Foreign Funding Licence Halted: "Will Explore Recourse", F1 Legend Jenson Button Breaks Guinness World Record. Colonia Mayor John McCormac announced Thursday afternoon the results of the findings of the Environmental Assessment Study that was conducted to investigate if Colonia High School buildings and grounds. Whittington a board-certified MD in California claimed several of the brain tumours developed by ex-Colonia High staff and students are glioblastoma multiforme an aggressive cancer which spreads to brain tissue. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. "We're all concerned, and we all want to get to the bottom of this. Heres how it works. Public health experts will look at the rate of brain cancer cases and investigate potential causes. Make no mistake when the department believes that people are at risk we act and immediately so, he told media members. Colonia High School is now the subject of radiation detecting. Please enter valid email address to continue. McCormac and Lupiano are waiting to hear back from the EPA. NEW JERSEY - A New Jersey man has uncovered a medical mystery apparently linking more than 100. In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. 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 . Early testing at the Woodbridge school by a consultant for the . The analysis was conducted after dozens of former high school students and staff over decades were diagnosed with cancers. More than 120 people who attended Colonia High School in New Jersey have been diagnosed with brain tumors. A man investigating his former high school in New Jersey says he has counted 115 people who attended or worked there have had a rare brain tumor. It "was an entry point for African uranium ores known as pitchblende" that were "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," according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York Division. Lupianowould liketheir investigators to come in over spring break so that students are not disturbed. Glioblastoma is an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord, according to the Mayo Clinic. Print |. This is definitely not normal," the mayor further said in the statement. Further explanation of what occurred at that high school over these decades of people being in the building, Lupiano told Fox News Digital. Colonia graduate Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist, was the first to sound the alarm about the potential cluster. But how will officials figure out if a true cancer cluster exists or if the cases are simply a coincidence? 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