Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist began to investigate Colonia High School, Woodbridge after he discovered that several students had rare tumors.
Lupiano started counting the number of people who were affected by the actions. He told CBS News York that he began to research the town and found that the three became five, seven became seven, and seven became fifteen.
He continues to update his followers via social media, and on Thursday, he announced that the list now included 115 people with malignant or benign tumours.
Lupiano posted on Facebook, “While we are not yet able to determine if any contaminants are present, the only link that points up to this point was that everyone spent a substantial amount of time at school.”
Lupiano, who graduated in 1989 from the school, was diagnosed with cancer 20 years ago. CBS New York reports that he still has lingering symptoms.
His sister, who was also a student at the school, discovered that his sister had a primary brain tumour. It turned out to have been stage 4 glioblastoma. He told CBS New York. Lupiano stated that two hours later, Lupiano received news that Lupiano’s wife had a primary brain tumour. His wife graduated from college in 1991.
Lupiano, his sister’s death, prompted him to write a long Facebook post and an article in a local paper in March asking for assistance in reporting brain tumor cases. He wrote, “There is only one medically proven cause for rare brain tumors such as ours,”
Glioblastoma is an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord, He said that the high school was the first to be built there and there was likely nothing in the ground. “The only possible thing that could have occurred, possibly, was the fill that was added during construction. No records exist for 55 years.
According to CBS New York, the mayor reached out to the Department of Health and Department of Environmental Protection in the state. In March, Dr. Joseph Massimino stated that the school district’s superintendent was still waiting for information from environmental agencies about next steps.
Lupiano stated that he had met with federal, state, and county agencies. He said this in a March 25 posting, “are going well.”
Lupiano posted Saturday that a radiological team searching for radiation andradon had concluded their search. He was informed that results would be available within two to three weeks.
He said, “While I was pleased with the Woodbridge Township survey response and the survey results, I do not understand why additional testing does not begin tomorrow.” CBS News reached out to Lupiano, and is still waiting for a response.
CBS News received a joint statement from the New Jersey Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). They stated that they were aware of concerns expressed by residents about Colonia High School and have partnered with Mayor McCormac of Woodbridge Township to better understand and assess whether there are any environmental exposures.
The statement states that “The Departments are ready to assist Woodbridge with reviewing any environmental data it gathers in order to determine the appropriate next steps.”
The Department of Health and the federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry will collaborate to conduct a public assessment and assess the potential health effects. The statement said, “We thank Mayor McCormac [sic] for raising these concerns. We ask for patience while we pursue science to try and find answers.”
CBS News reached out to the school principal, superintendent and mayor and the Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry.
