A New Jersey high school is being investigated after over 100 individuals, including former students and staff, have developed rare brain tumors over several decades.
Al Lupiano, a New Jersey environmental administrator and graduate of Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, documented his investigation in a now-viral Facebook post on Mar. 7, which he has updated frequently in the following weeks. Although cases of brain tumors in the area have been documented since at least 1975, Lupiano’s post is credited with gaining the issue some widespread attention. As of his Apr. 21 update, he claims to have reviewed the case files of 115 individuals tied to the school who have developed brain tumors, several of whom have already died.
“I never in my worst nightmare envisioned ever hitting this milestone,” he wrote in his Apr. 11 update after identifying the 100th case. “That’s 100 people with their lives forever changed.”
In Aug. 2021, both Lupiano’s sister and wife were diagnosed with brain tumors – his sister Angela was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme, while his wife Michele developed an acoustic neuroma. In 1999, Lupiano himself was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma. These varieties of tumors have an incident rate of 3 in 100,000 people, making them exceptionally rare. All three individuals developed tumors on the left side of their brains.
“Over a 20-year period from 1975 – 1995, I estimate approximately 5,000 individuals have passed through the hallowed halls of CHS. That means we have an incident rate of 15 cases out of 5,000 people,” Lupiano said in his Facebook post. “Since the previously stated incident rate of GBM and AN is 10-30 out of 1,000,000, the rate of CHS brain tumors is 30,000 out of 1,000,000.”
New Jersey Department of Health spokesperson Nancy Kearney told McClatchy News that they are investigating potential “environmental exposure concerns.”
“We ask for patience as we pursue the science to try to identify answers,” Kearney said.
Kearney also said the Department of Environmental Protection partnered with Woodbridge Township’s mayor to “better understand the issue.” At the same time, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will work with the health department to “conduct a public health assessment and evaluate the potential for health effects.”
“It’s alarming because there are just so many people with a tumor — malignant or benign, and it’s serious. We have to really take a look at it,” Woodbridge Township Mayor John McCormac told ABC7.
Woodbridge School Superintendent Joseph Massimino told WCBS that he was waiting for updates from the organizations investigating the school grounds. “I’m a lifelong resident here. I raised my family here. So, the health and safety of our students are of paramount importance to me,” Massimino said.
On Apr. 17, environmentalists from engineering firm T+M Associates were contracted to test the school grounds for radiation, according to ABC7. Testing is planned to conclude after one month.
