Our children and Colonia High School staff deserve more involvement of the State and Federal agencies. Colonia High School Brain Tumors: New Jersey Cancer Cluster Causes Concern, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. 3/25 UPDATE: The meetings with County, State, and Federal agencies are going well. Al Lupiano, a graduate of Colonia High School, tells Fox News Digital that since posting his theory about an apparent link between brain tumor diagnoses in 1990s and early 2000s graduates of . Al Lupiano, a Colonia High School graduate is on a mission to answer that question after discovering more than 80 fe. Marion Renault is a health and science journalist. Lupiano, however, says Woodbridge Mayor McCormac is the only government official who has reached out to him for information. "They are all causing cancer.". Pollution gets cleaned up or dissipates into the air. In Woodbridge and elsewhere, unresolved concerns regardless of whether more can be done, scientifically can seed deep distrust and suspicion in suspected cluster communities. 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 . Send to me ASAP by PM (FB Messenger)we would like to put this on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt TONIGHT! Cancer-Causing Toxins Found in New Tests at NJ School, Mom Says, Raising Concerns. 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. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. It is possible that soil from the plant had been trucked to Colonia High School during its construction in 1967, according to the NJ Spotlight. My sister and siblings attended Lynn Crest, Colonia Middle, and Colonia High School. RWJBarnabas Health and Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey - the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center - brings a world class team of researchers and specialists to fight alongside you, providing close-to-home access to the latest treatment and clinical trials. WASHINGTON (AP) Federal officials sued a Louisiana chemical maker on Tuesday, alleging that it presented an unacceptable cancer risk to the nearby . Between August 1999 and November 1999, the Corps disposed of 35,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil contained within the VP pile. 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. The Army Corps of Engineers has a lengthy fact sheet on that plant. "Every inch of Colonia High School from buildings to fields is being tested for radiation to determine if there is a link between the school and the number of cancer cases . But where did the exposure come from? Parents of students at Colonia High School wonder if the 1960s-era building is contaminated with mercury or formaldehyde. Lupiano, his wife . Ray Kent Carlile, "Ray Cool Cat Carlile" was born in Wichita, Kansas May 20, 1957 to Margaret and Earl Carlile and passed away at his home in Canon City on February 23, 2023. An alum of Colonia High School in Woodbridge is raising the alarm over a possible cancer cluster among the school's graduates. "If we can enrich science by showing that an unknown compound is in high concentration and link it to primary brain tumors, maybe we can protect others, remove it from our environment to make sure it never happens again," he said. Federal investigations take place: An investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency is being done to determine whether these 100-plus cases are a cancer cluster, or simply a coincidence, Fox News reported. The New Jersey cancer registry offers little help, since not everyone who went to or worked at Colonia still lives in Woodbridge, and not everyone in Woodbridge went to Colonia. His wife Michelle graduated in 1991. But, in order for me to take the next steps, I need the help of others. I dont know if its because they have deemed this to not be news worthy or simply because my requests for help have fallen on deaf ears. 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. He was raised in Thornton, CO and moved to Liberal, Kansas where he married and had two girls, Chelsey and Amber. According to ABC7, one of the victims was a woman named Janice Wisinski, who died 10 years ago from an inoperable brain tumor while pregnant. "We immediately contacted our environmental consultants, the health department of the Township of Woodbridge, and township officials to review the information. I'm doing this not only for my wife, my sister my nieces are currently in the school but this deserves further understanding. said Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac. Colonia High School is 1 of 3 high schools in . (Gosselin Funeral Home) In August 2021, DeCillis received . Email tips toaudrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants. How was this possible? Ive also started a sublist of what I am classifying as cases of interest due to several anomalies. Al Lupiano, his wife and his sister all had brain tumors. READ NEXT: Graphic Video Captures Death of 14-Year-Old Boy on Orlando Free Fall Amusement Ride. 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. 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. Thats not body cancers and general tumorsthats 80 rare primary brain tumors! 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. On the same day, his sister, Angela, learned she had a fast-growing malignant tumor, also on the left side of her brain. It says. The town announced in May that there were no traces of radioactivity found in the school. Jason Wisinski, who lost his wife and sister-in-law, both Colonia High alumnae, to . Earlier:Some in Colonia not satisfied after no radiological hazards found at school. Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. 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. It is not unfathomable that it may have happened in Colonia, Mrs. Komorek told the board. 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. Legal Statement. Mr. Lupianos list of former classmates and staff members at Colonia High School with primary brain tumors hit 100 in April. Lupiano's sister, also a graduate of the high school, died recently from brain cancer. While I dont know for sure if they are related, being graduates of the High School, living next to the HS, and/or having rare cancers is something I feel needs to be explored further. Potentially contaminated soil had been removed from the Middlesex Borough property over the years,with some of the soil used for construction right around the time of the construction of Colonia High School. Here are the best chocolates in New Jersey. Updated: Feb 28, 2023 / 11:29 AM EST. His . Could that be the link? Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. And, YESI most definitely DO! But she hopes the district will do more research. 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. He was born in . 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. In 1998 the Corps of Engineers recycled and disposed of the stockpiled steel. Al Lupiano, a graduate of Colonia High School, tells Fox News Digital that since posting his theory about an apparent link between brain tumor diagnoses in 1990s and early 2000s graduates of Colonia High School including himself, his wife and his sister, who recently died of cancer on Facebook in March, he has gathered the names of at least 110 graduates with rare brain tumors. But many in the community do not accept them. Why is this alarming? A cluster of brain tumors and cancer in people associated with a single New Jersey high school is causing concern. Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. I am asking for your help! "This is only the tip of the iceberg. Parents like Dawn Genoni are willing to wait for those results -- at least at the time Genoni spoke to News 4 last month. Radiological assessments will be conducted throughout the . Some people will not be convinced.. The answer? 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.. 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. In a conversation with NJSpotlight, Al Lupiano said that asecret World War II lab in Middlesex Borough, called the Middlesex Sampling Plant, is said to have been used during the Manhattan Project,a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. 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. Taking the next steps to begin the investigation. 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. The clients have to pay for the remediation. PCBs are Polychlorinated biphenyls, otherwise known as highly carcinogenic chemical compounds the production of which has been banned since 1979. We have to accept the results.. Facebook Colonia High School. More than 100 people who graduated from Colonia High School have developed brain cancer. If you are willing, please record a short video on your phone of yourself talking about your issue. Keep it to 30 seconds or less. Please, look at this. They may seek answers where there are not any or where they are impossible to dredge out. 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. NEW JERSEY - A New Jersey man has uncovered a medical mystery apparently linking more than 100 people . 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. Lupiano promised his dying sister to dig for the root of the brain cancers apparently linked to the high school. 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. In 1999, the Corps prepared an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) to address the Vicinity Property (VP) pile remaining at the site. For public health officials, resolving this tension is the macro version of bedside manner: How do you reassure a frightened patient that nothings wrong? 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. "It's overwhelming. Something Is Wrong Here. More Than 100 Local Residents Had Brain Tumors, but What Was the Cause? Dose, too, is a major factor. State your name, what you were diagnosed with, when, and what year you graduated CHS or worked there. Wish me luck! Colonia High School 180 East Street Colonia, NJ 07067 Phone: 732-499-6500 Fax: 732-574-2575. There are hundreds more probable carcinogens of varying ubiquity under study, such as pesticides, parasites, night shifts and indoor fires. To summarize, primary brain tumors of this type have an incidence rate of between 10-30 out of 1,000,000 individuals. We all of us attended Colonia High School. (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, a graduate of Colonia High School, tells Fox News Digital that since posting his theory about an apparent link between brain tumor diagnoses in 1990s and early 2000s graduates of . Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, 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. 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 . 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. It started in 1999 when Mr. Lupiano, then 27, was diagnosed with a noncancerous one. Ive reached out to both the news and local newspapers, but have not received any interest. While there is no known direct correlation between this incident and the cluster of brain tumors that has emerged from former students and staff, it is worth noting the history of that area that could have potentially led to both incidents. Why would they include classes as recent as 2021 when we know many cancers take decades or longer to develop? The township shared the information with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Health. He concedes no soil or dust samples were collected when the township conducted its own tests, but adds that Komoreks findings need further validation. All three had attended Colonia High School in Woodbridge, in central New Jersey, and soon enough, Mr. Lupiano began asking on Facebook and on a local news site if any other graduates had similar diagnoses. A Record of Decision (ROD) for Soils was signed September 2005. Everything that was found is normal." You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! My three siblings graduated class of 91, 95, and 98. 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. 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. As previously stated, there is basically one medically proven cause of rare brain tumors like ours radiation. By the time students let out for the summer, the case was closed. Sister to dig for the summer, the case was closed November,... Question after discovering more than 100 people who graduated from Colonia High School found at School causing Concern graduate! And disposed of the state and Federal agencies are going well Colonia, NJ phone! 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