A medical mystery, single-handedly uncovered by a New Jersey man, seems to link over 100 people diagnosed with rare cancers or tumors to a Woodbridge high school.
The man in question, who used to be a former student of the school, is now an environmental scientist and had begun to take notice of the striking number of people he knew from the high school falling ill with a chronic disease.
Al Lupiano began investigating the connection between this rare diagnosis and the New Jersey high school they all attended. Since beginning his investigation, he has identified at least 110 people who have been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer or tumor that previous attended Colonia High School.
Al Lupiano and wife Michelle
Al Lupiano revealed he had a brain tumor 20 years ago before his wife had one and so did his sister who died in February aged just 44. As you can assume, they all attended Colonia High School. Since his sister’s passing, Al made a vow that he would uncover the cause of the illness stating: ‘I will not rest until I have answers’.
Al Lupiano’s sister, Angela DeCillis
The 50-year-old claims the diseases could be traced back to a nearby sampling plant that dealt with uranium for the first atomic bomb under the Manhattan Project.
In 1999, Lupiano had been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor at the age of 27; after learning his wife and sister received the same diagnosis he started to notice a pattern. Not to mention residents living near the high school have contacted him about similar cancer cases occurring.
These tumors are rare because they are primary brain tumors, which means they originate in the brain, while secondary brain tumors, which originate in the body and spread to the brain, are more common.
Lupiano released a statement saying:
“It’s overwhelming. … I’m doing this not only for my wife, my sister — my nieces are currently in the school — but this deserves further understanding. Further explanation of what occurred at that high school over these decades of people being in the building. I don’t think this is the end of the story. I have a really bad feeling we’re going to find contamination beyond the high school. There’s lots and lots of people calling me, saying, ‘Look, I didn’t go to the high school, but I live a mile away, and we call our block cancer alley.'”
Lupiano’s theory is that the contamination from the nearby sampling plant that dealt with the uranium during the Manhattan Project seems to be the cause of these cases of rare cancers and tumors.
Lupiano reported:
“We have really solid data on primary brain tumors because of what we learned after World War Two, what we learned after Chernobyl. The medical journals are rich with data supporting ionizing radiation causes brain tumors. So that’s why I focused on cancerous or malignant and benign — because they’re triggered by the same thing, and we have really solid statistics to say all.”
100 Percent Fedup noted:
Between the 1940s and 1967 – coincidentally the same year Colonia High School was built – the plant received shipments of uranium, thorium, and beryllium ores. And, while the plant reportedly “decontaminated to the standards in effect at the time,” there were “traces of radioactive materials that had been carried offsite over the years by wind and rain to yards of neighboring homes.”
The USACE also reports that in 1948, “some radioactively contaminated materials had been trucked from the plant to the Middlesex Municipal Landfill (MML), one-half mile away.” And, in the 1980s, “the excavated soil was stored at the site in a specially constructed pile, known as the Vicinity Properties (VP) pile.” This soil could have been transported to Colonia High School and used in its construction in 1967.
In a joint statement released by The New Jersey Departments of Health (DOH) and Environmental Protection (DEP) who are currently investigating the apparent cancer cluster, stated:
“Our agencies are aware of the concerns raised by local residents, particularly as they relate to Colonia High School, and are partnering with Mayor McCormac and Woodbridge Township to better understand the issue and determine whether any relevant environmental exposure concerns are present at the site. The Departments stand ready to assist Woodbridge in reviewing any environmental data it collects to determine appropriate next steps.
The Department of Health will work with the federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to provide an assessment of the potential health effects. 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.”
Source: 100percentfedup
