Families of students at a New Jersey high school where nearly 100 former pupils and teachers developed brain tumors are demanding a remote-learning option as they wait for an investigation’s results.
Parents, alumni and residents in Woodbridge, the Middlesex County town that is home to Colonia High School, sent a letter to school district officials and the mayor seeking the temporary move, NJ Advance Media reported Tuesday.
“We are deeply saddened by this whole situation and hope the findings are unsubstantiated,” the letter said. “But we are also concerned that more is not being done.”
A town probe into the terrifying medical mystery began last month and wrapped up this past weekend, the local Patch reported.
The investigation included various radiological assessments across the school’s 28-acre campus, including the testing of indoor air samples for radon.
Parents have called for more to be done from state and federal agencies. Robert Miller
A majority of those who have developed brain tumors graduated between 1975 and 2000, one report indicated. Robert MillerResults are not expected to be released to school families and teachers until the end of the month, NJ Advance Media reported. The findings must first be submitted to county, state and federal health officials for review.
“It is important to note that no ‘brain tumor cluster’ has been identified and/or confirmed by any federal, state, county or municipal agency,” Woodbridge town spokesman John Hagerty cautioned Patch.
NJ Advance Media reported that schools Superintendent Joseph Massimino has already responded to parents’ request, saying he asked the state Department of Education about remote learning — and that the option was prohibited under current state law.
The investigation included various radiological assessments across the school’s campus. Robert Miller
Results are not expected to be released until the end of the month. Robert MillerSchool families and their neighbors also took to an online petition to thank local officials for their investigation into the cancer cases but added that they “strongly believe that this is not enough.”
“Our children and Colonia High School staff deserve more involvement of the State and Federal agencies,” they wrote. “Because the school remains open, we demand greater urgency to find out if potentially harmful substances are harming our children and staff at Colonia High School.”
The vast majority of those who have developed brain tumors “graduated between 1975 and 2000, although outliers have come as recently as a 2014 graduate,” according to the Star-Ledger.
