As a concerned uncle and community member, I pray we find nothing, Lupiano says. I will not rest until I have answers. 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. This all came to fruition in August of last year, and it just startled Lupiano. Qualifications: Current and valid New Jersey Registered Nurse license is required. The municipal council in Woodbridge, which oversees Colonia High School, approved an emergency contract earlier this month to start radiological testing of the grounds at the high school. "The EPA and CDC are not testing at Colonia High School," said Hagerty. I had stage 4 cancer. Two hours later, we received information that my wife also had a primary brain tumor, said Lupiano. He was diagnosed 20 years ago. Some of these are non-cancerous, yet very debilitating forms of brain tumor. Through his posts, Lupiano, CHS Class of 1989, wanted to find out if CHS is the cause of primary brain tumors that have affected more than 100 former students and staff. "I need your help Facebook. But even more rare was the fact that his wife and sister later found out that they had similar medical conditions. The investigation started earlier this year after a stunning number of cancer cases in people who had a connection to the school. I made a promise to my sister while she was dying that if something did this to us, I will find out what did it, Lupiano says. Early testing at the Woodbridge school by a consultant for the . There have been some outlier cases. Almost 100 people from the very same New Jersey high school have all developed brain tumors. No one knows exactly what it is. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Just simple math in my head having a husband and wife with this tumor, which arent related and then to have my sister with a blastoma, I knew something was wrong, Lupiano says. CHS is the one link of all three of them. In May, the district and state announced an environmental assessment of all 28 acres in and around Colonia found no traces of radiological contaminants and the school was deemed safe for students and staff. When he started digging and looking for a link, the common link was Colonia High School. Colonia High School is now the. Al Lupiano has found 107 people with primary brain tumors who all attended or worked at Colonia High School. Colonia is not a mega high school. What steps are investigators taking to try to figure this out? Friday, April 22, 2022. I just felt like there were a lot of unanswered questions regarding the school, Komorek told NJ Advance Media. Topics you care about, straight to your inbox. The institute predicts about 290,000 people will develop breast cancer in 2022 compared to 25,000 for brain cancer. They were diagnosed on the same day last summer. Lupiano also lost his younger sister to the disease in February at the age of 44, the outlet continued. Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist,. Is it a cancer cluster or just a coincidence? Ninety-four former staff members and students from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, have developed an "extremely" rare form of malignant brain tumor, leading local officials to approve an emergency probe of the school Tuesday. He emphasized that there's no need for residents in the community to go get emergency cancer imaging scans immediately. Scott Faytok | For NJ Advance Media. Earlier this year, Colonia graduate Al Lupiano, also an environmental scientist, discovered more than 100 teachers and alums of the school who reported having brain tumors, drawing international attention to the community and sparking state and local investigations. Officials are looking for potential radiation at the school. The results will then be reviewed by federal agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, plus the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health. The reports he got back were startling, and he saw patterns emerging. While Lupianos wife Michele is still undergoing treatment, his sister Angela died in February, just months after her diagnosis. Pictured, a stock image of a brain scan. When it didnt happen, Komorek who earned a joint degree in environmental science from Rutgers and New Jersey Institute of Technology and specializes in air, ground water and soil contamination took matters into her own hands. Earlier this spring . Massimino said in the memo the district has contacted our environmental consultants, the Health Department of the Township of Woodbridge, and Township Officials to review the information. He also said the township shared the information with the State Department of Environmental Protection and the State Department of Health.. The testing was prompted after township officials learned of various social media posts related to several instances of brain tumors and brain cancer among students and faculty of CHS from . Colonia High School was reportedly the common denominator among those suffering from the tumors Credit: CBS NEW YORK Al Lupiano, speaking to CBS2, said the rare brain tumors were discovered in people who attended Colonia High School. She also requested the district embark on additional environmental testing. He has contacted: Mayor McCormac confirmed these details yesterday to PEOPLE Magazine. Mystery as 100 people. Lupianos quest for information took him to Facebook last month, and that list of people who went to or worked at Colonia High School - and have a primary brain tumor - is now closing in on 100 cases. The environmental testing is expected to last a month. Unfortunately, it turned out to be stage 4 glioblastoma. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Lupiano grew up in Woodbridge Township and he now works as an environmental scientist; he no longer lives in Woodbridge. As of Thursday, Lupiano said he has confirmed 65 cases of people with rare brain tumors and they all are either Colonia High School graduates or had worked there, he says. 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. The action (should) be undertaken immediately, due to high exceedances of the State and Federal regulatory standards for PCBs and pesticides, as well as the fact that PCBs and chlordane inhalation may be occurring by students and staff, Komorek stated in a letter to district officials. "Colonia is not a mega high school. All of the cases have ties to Colonia High School, either as students or employees. Other toxic elements and compounds could exist at the schools property due to presence of suspected fill material, potential illegal disposal of chemicals or contaminant migration from surrounding properties, Komorek stated in her letter. They are leaving radon canisters at the school for 14 days, which will test for elevated levels of radon. This is definitely not normal.. "In addition, DEP's further review does not indicate sources of environmental exposures of concern to public health. Sign up for Patch emails: https://patch.com/subscribe Contact this Patch reporter: Carly.baldwin@patch.com, this resolution approved at their April 5 meeting, Brain Tumor Link To Colonia High School 'Credible,' Town's Mayor Says. Colonia High School is now the subject of radiation detecting research. The testers are specifically testing for radon levels in the air after 1989 Colonia High School grad Al Lupiano proposed this theory that he found an unusually high number of brain. My best friend had a cancerous brain tumor. Kamal added that there needs to be a full investigation to understand if these cancers are linked, and if there's a specific cause. Asking them to be patient for several more weeks is unacceptable. "I had told my sister from the very beginning that there was too much of a coincidence that me, my wife and her all have the same tumor," he said. So, would you take us through what is known so far about this cluster? The school was built in 1967 and currently serves roughly 1,300 students, the NY Post noted. Are you a Colonia High School graduate that has been diagnosed with a brain tumor? This is also great news for all former students who attended and staff to work at CHS since it opened back in 1968., McCormac said they sympathize with anyone who has experienced brain tumors and brain cancers, especially those who lost loved ones to the terrible disease, but there is no cause-and-effect relation between those illnesses and the buildings or grounds at CHS.. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. A high school in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, is being investigated by environmental experts after reports of more than 100 former students and staff being diagnosed with brain tumors. An alumnus of Colonia High School in Woodbridege, N.J. is investigating his former high school, claiming he has counted 115 people who attended or worked there to have had a rare brain tumor, according to CBS News. ET: The spelling of Michele DeCillis has been corrected. katherine noelle wyman; cape breton post obituaries 2022. location symbol text in word; list of female jockeys australia; mike conley house columbus ohio address Some are incredibly aggressive forms of cancer that need very aggressive forms of treatment. Columns with an asterisk or 'N' indicate there was no data or it was suppressed to protect student privacy. ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream, Onlookers urged police to charge into TX school: 'Go in there! Colonia High School: Environmentalists determining possible link between New Jersey school and brain tumors - ABC7 Chicago tumor Former students wonder if their brain tumors are. Komorek, Lupiano and several other parents criticized the assessment which did not include taking soil or water samples for not being thorough enough to put their minds at ease, despite assurances from state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette. They may need to excavate soil underneath the school. WOODBRIDGE - Work is underway to create a portal for people with ties to Colonia High School who have developed brain tumors to share information with the New . 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. It's not contaminated water. ", "Just the sheer numbers of cases he's found is staggering," McCormac continued. Over 1,300 cases have been reported of people getting sick after eating the Lucky Charms cereal. After nearly 100 people who attended the same New Jersey high school developed rare brain tumors, an alumnus and cancer survivor is demanding answers. By Sean Adams, WCBS Newsradio 880. Both had graduated from Colonia High School, the news outlet reported. Since . Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac immediately and responsibly got engaged. In a mysterious story, a man from New Jersey named Al Lupiano found out that 100 people with uncommon cancers were linked to Woodbridge Township School District, Colonia High School. Three of the victims are Al Lupiano, his wife Michelle, and his sister Angele Decillis. Both parents of children in school and current teachers and staff deserve answers. There could be a real problem here, and our residents deserve to know if there are any dangers, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac said, according to the outlet. All rights reserved (About Us). Komorek said the results of her testing indicate state environmental officials should conduct further tests of the air, soil and building compounds at Colonia. Listing for: Select Medical Corporation. Brain cancer is relatively rare but very dangerous. All Rights Reserved. Again too early to tell yet, I think, to draw any definitive conclusions.". Lupiano became focused as to why all three of them had contracted these rare brain tumors. The 50-year-old claims the diseases could be traced. Lupiano said the rarity of the brain tumors raised concerns of the neurologist they shared since they all grew up in relatively the same neighborhood. "That's something that we take very seriously. The pool is getting a new liner, gutter and deck, along with new filtration systems. "I had told my sister from the very beginning that there was too much of a coincidence that me, my wife and her all have the same tumor," Lupiano said. The cause hasn't been discovered yet, but some researchers suspect . The video has been viewed more than 3 million times.Whittington believes that the Colonia High School students and staff have developed glioblastoma multiforme, a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor that invades the nearby brain tissue. These tumors are even more rare occurring in 10 out of 1,000,000 individuals.. Environmental engineers have been testing for radiation at Colonia High School in New Jersey after reports that over 100 former students and staff members were diagnosed with brain tumors. It's just that rare. . We will continue to keep you informed as we develop a plan of action based on the advice of our experts.. "I am beyond pleased to announce that after an extensive field investigation that included assessing the classrooms, school building materials, and the entire 28 acres of the Colonia High School campus, no radiological hazards were identified that warrant further investigation," he wrote in a letter to families. Lupiano, his wife and his sister all Colonia High grads were all diagnosed with rare brain tumors. Jason Wisinski, who lost his wife and sister-in-law, both Colonia High alumnae, to primary malignant brain tumors at the age of 38, became one of many convinced that a cluster a. COLONIA, New Jersey (WABC) -- An investigation into the possible link between a Central New Jersey school and cases of brain cancer found no radiological hazards that warranted further investigation, the district superintendent said Thursday. When a former student at Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, realized that he, his wife and his sister all had brain tumors, he wondered if something about their high. Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2023. A comprehensive investigation of soil, indoor air, and groundwater shall be conducted to determine if children and staff are exposed to unhealthy levels of toxins other than already identified PCBs and pesticides., In his letter to the parents in the school district, Massimino wrote: Nothing in the newly reported information has any bearing on the prior studies which determined last spring that no radiation was found inside or outside of Colonia High School. All three were diagnosed with a brain tumor. As a scientist, I want to find answers. There's a vast array of treatments, but again, we're dealing with so many different types of primary brain tumors here that they're all treated very differently. "That started setting off bells and whistles in my head.". Unfortunately, that didnt happen.. Radiology, Allied Health, Radiologic Technologist, Neurophysiology. Courtesy Al Lupiano. Jason Wisinksi lost his wife Janice 10 years ago to an inoperable brain tumor called Anaplastic Astrocytoma. ', * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts, AccuWeather: AM showers before a mild afternoon, Extra Time: Breaking down massive NYC, NYPD settlement, Teammate facing charges in crash that killed local UGA player. The conversation is available below. The Daily Caller | 1775 Eye Street NW | Suite 1150-290 | Washington, DC 20006, (RELATED: Video Shows Man Repeatedly Running Over Woman With SUV After Minor Incident). 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