Colonia High Cancer Rates Are Not Unusually High: NJ Dept. Of Health

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The rates of cancer found in Colonia High graduates do not exceed and are not abnormal when compared with rates of cancer that occur in a similar population size, according to the New Jersey Department of Health and Rutgers University, both of which the Woodbridge school district asked to look into the matter in 2022.

This was said by superintendent Joseph Massimino at the Thursday night Woodbridge school board meeting, where concerns were resurrected that there may be a cancer cluster tied to Colonia High School.

Those concerns were exacerbated this week by a new NJ.com report that brought the cancer cases back into the public discussion.

Fears of a cancer cluster started three years ago and originated with Al Lupiano, a Colonia High graduate and environmental scientist who is keeping track of all the cancer cancers on his Facebook page. Lupiano said he located approximately 122 cases of people with cancer or brain tumors who either worked at or attended Colonia High School from 1975-1999.

When the school district was made aware of this, Massimino said he asked the NJ Department of Health "to look at what would the number of brain tumors be in a naturally occurring sample size?"

Massimino said the DOH and an epidemiologist from Rutgers, hired by the teachers' union "ran the numbers" and found that there are not usually high rates of cancer in Colonia High graduates, nor in people who work at the high school or live near it.

"The numbers fell within the same numbers that the gentleman who started the Facebook page came up with — somewhere between 98 and 108. Those numbers were consistent with what you'd find in a given population," said Massimino. "When I spoke to a (Princeton Medical Center) neurosurgeon ... he said, 'No, you have no greater chance of getting a primary brain tumor at Colonia than you do any other spot in the country based on the data of a randomly selected sample size.'"

Also Thursday, Massimino gave a long explanation to the public, where he discussed how the fears about the cancer cluster began and what the town of Woodbridge has done since, including involving the commissioners of the New Jersey Department of Health and Department of Environmental Protection. The school district also did extensive radiation testing on the grounds at Colonia High School in 2022, which resulted in no radiation or radon being found.

"Everybody we've spoken to from both the Department Health and the Department of Environmental Protection said if you were looking for an environmental cause of primary brain tumors — and Mr. Lupiano said this himself — you would be looking for ionizing radiation," said Massimino.

"Now, I'm not a scientist, so everything I'm giving you, I'm giving to you from the experts that gave it to me ... The mayor graciously moved money to make sure that we could immediately start testing and figure out if there was an issue and what we should be doing. The plan that was agreed upon with the DEP, the DOH and the experts that we had consulted with was to look for ionizing radiation. So we did a complete canvas of the 28 acres (at Colonia High School). We hired T&M Associates. They then brought in a company that specifically had equipment looking for radiation. They pushed them all over Colonia High School for weeks. We put radon canisters in the room, everything that we thought we should do. We made sure that the DEP and the DOH signed off on it. The tests came back with no sign of ionizing radiation or any kind of radiation at that point. At that point, we then said, OK, is there anything further we need to do? And the answer was no, because if you're looking for an environmental connection to primary brain tumors or central nervous disorders, you would be looking for radiation. That was not discovered. So at that point, the case was considered closed."

That was in the spring of 2022. In the fall of 2022:

"We had a parent surreptitiously take samples without our knowledge. Did not ask. We did not see her collect them, but (she) took samples of caulk and soil from outside Colonia High School, and the samples came back positive for PCBs and historic pesticides."

Those chemicals are common in construction building materials used in the '70s, said Massimino.

"That being said, because an open file" was created, the Woodbrige school district re-hired T&M Associates, he said. T&M is now working with the NJ DEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine how extensive the PCBs and pesticides are in the soil around the high school.

"The goal is to have that remediated this summer. We're hopeful. This summer, this fall. The DEP and EPA has to sign off on that plan. So where we're at right now is T&M, our environmental consultants, have finished the delineation. They are now working on the remediation plan with the federal and state agencies. Once they sign off on the plan, they will execute some plan, which should close the case."

Massimino noted that his two children attend Colonia High School and still do to this day.

"There is nothing more important to me as a father. There was nothing more important to me than making sure that that school is safe for everybody else's child, as well as the two of mine. It's personal."

The video of the meeting is below. Massimino starts talking about this at minute 21:22, when a Woodbridge resident says he is concerned about the cancer cases:

Earlier this week: More Come Forward With Concerns Over 'Cancer Cluster' In Colonia