School Remains Open During Radiation Testing Linked To Rare Brain Tumor Cases
Reports linking over 100 people to a school radiation issue led officials to test the building while it remains open.
Over the past couple of years, children have had a lot on their plates. School shutdowns, remote learning, school reopenings, and mask mandates are to name but a few. Sadly, and unfortunately, one more issue may be added to that last and it’s a doozy–school radiation.
Al Lupiano is from New Jersey. He went to Colonia High School in the Woodbridge Township, graduating back in 1989. When he was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, he was told it was a very rare one (Acoustic Neuroma) and abnormally large for someone as young as he was (27 at the time). Lupiano has thankfully survived these many years, but his story doesn’t end here. It only becomes more tragic and quite possibly revolves around school radiation.
Last summer, Lupiano’s wife was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. It too was abnormally large. Like with her husband, it also was an Acoustic Neuroma (AN). On the very same day, Lupiano’s sister was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. This one, a Glioblastoma Multiforme, was even rarer than Lupiano’s and his wife’s, with a 30 out of every 1 million people incident rate. Sadly, Lupiano’s sister’s cancer was very aggressive. She did not survive long after her diagnosis. Their diagnosis point to a larger problem at hand – possibly from school radiation exposure.
“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. 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 head…according to him, the odds are maybe 1 in a BILLION,” Lupiano said to Fox News. “To say he was concerned when he discovered all three of us grew up in the same neighborhood is an understatement,” Lupiano continued. “Why? There is one well-documented cause of brain tumors – radiation exposure.” And by that, he meant school radiation.
So, Lupiano began to dig. Through Facebook, he reached out to former classmates regarding possible school radiation, those who went to the school, and even school staff. He asked them to contact him personally and he explained his medical condition, along with that of his wife and sister. The response he got was shocking, to say the least.
“[A]s of midnight Sunday 4/10, I recorded the 100th case of someone having a primary brain tumor,” Luapiano said in an update on his Facebook post. “I never in my worst nightmare envisioned ever hitting this milestone. That’s 100 people with their life forever changed. 100 families having to be told the terrible news. 100 stories of shock and disbelief with the diagnosis. I pray we find answers…(as of 18:00 4/11, the list stands at 102 individuals).”
Al Lupiano
102 former students or staff of Colonia High School were diagnosed with cancer. Some of those diagnosed, like Lupiano’s sister, have already succumbed to their diseases. According to Lupiano, quite a few of those who had reached out to him to tell him of their diagnoses didn’t even live in the town of Colonia (where the high school is located) but they just worked at the school.
This cancer cluster was immediately troubling. Lupiano could only conclude that it was from some sort of school radiation exposure. As the news gained traction, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormack got involved. He reached out to the Woodbridge Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Agency for Toxic Substance Disease Registry in order to begin an investigation of possible radiation exposure at the high school campus. The mayor says he wants both federal and local authorities included in the investigation.
Lupiano, though, isn’t content with just investigating the grounds for possible school radiation. He is also looking some 30-minutes down the road at the Middlesex Sampling Plant as a possible link. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York Division, the sampling plant, which was housed on 9.6 acres, “was an entry point for African uranium ores known as pitchblende.” This uranium ore was “imported for use in the nation’s early atomic energy program, were assayed at the Middlesex Sampling Plant, and then shipped to other sites for processing.” Could this be the source of possible school radiation?
Between the early 1940s and 1967, the sampling plant received uranium, thorium, and beryllium ores. 1967 was the year that Colonia High School was built. The school radiation link was beginning to look possible. But that isn’t all.
According to the USACE New York Division, the plant was “decontaminated to the standards in effect at the time.” But what was overlooked back then was the fact that some trace radioactive materials had been carried off the plant’s site by wind and rain over the years. These materials wound up in the yards of the plants neighboring homes. It is very possible that contaminated soil was brought over to the high school during its construction, thus the possible chance of school radiation exposure.
Right now, all mentioned agencies are conducting their tests for possible school radiation. “We ask for patience as we pursue the science to try to identify answers,” said Nancy Kearney, state Department of Health spokesperson, via the Miami Herald. “If there are any potential environmental exposure pathways identified and a need for further environmental sampling, the state Health Department will work cooperatively with ATSDR to conduct a public health assessment and evaluate the potential for health effects.”
But here is the kicker to the school radiation story. Although over 100 cases have been proven, and all of these cases have been shown to involve everyone who had either been a student at the high school or a staff member, the school remains open. Yes, while all these tests are being conducted, the school continues to keep its doors open for teaching. Go figure.
