Published 14:35 IST, April 17th 2022
US: 100 Colonia High School alumni develop rare cancer; New Jersey Mayor orders probe
In a mysterious medical story, a man from New Jersey named Al Lupiano found out that 100 people with uncommon cancers were linked to the same school.
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. Lupiano was diagnosed with a rare and abnormally large brain tumour Acoustic Neuroma (AN) in 1999 when he was just 27 years old.
As per the reports of Fox, his wife and now-deceased sister were both diagnosed with uncommon forms of brain cancer. He revealed in a Facebook post that his wife was diagnosed with an abnormally large AN tumour and that his sister was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), which has an occurrence rate of 30 per million people.
Lupiano remembered that he, his wife and his sister all attended Colonia High School in Woodbridge in the 1990s, but he was not convinced that the high school was linked to uncommon brain cancer cases until he asked others who attended Colonia to contact him directly on Facebook. He stated that more than 100 former Colonia High School students had been diagnosed with uncommon cancers as of April 11.
Lupiano said that there are 100 people whose lives will never be the same again. According to Fox News, he further stated that he is hoping they will be able to come up with solutions. Many of the people who contacted Lupiano about their brain cancer cases were former teachers and staff members of Colonia High School who didn't live in Colonia and only worked in the school.
After the news came out, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormack's office began talks with the Woodbridge Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Agency for Toxic Substance Disease Registry about opening investigations into possible radiation exposure at the high school's campus. McCormack stated that the municipality wants both local and federal investigators involved in the case.
Lupiano also hinted at connection between Colonia High School and a Middlesex sampling plant
In his interview with NJ Spotlight, Lupiano also hinted at a possible connection between Colonia High School and a Middlesex sampling plant in New Jersey. The Middlesex sampling plant, which is now closed, sits on 9.6 acres, around 30 minutes from Colonia. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York Division stated that it was an entry point for African uranium ores known as pitchblende, which were imported for use in the nation's early atomic energy program.
Image: Unsplash
Updated 14:35 IST, April 17th 2022