Cancer in Colonia: Community Concern for Enviormental Health at Colonia High School
by Ramid Brown
Site Description:
For the past 70 years, dating back to the 1950s, Colonia High School, located in Colonia, New Jersey, has been associated with an unusually high number of cancer cases, specifically brain tumors, affecting former students and staff. The community has made efforts to call for environmental testing to determine if these cases are linked to the surrounding area of the school. Even after testing was conducted, the community has questioned if sufficient efforts have been made to identify environmental risks at play and provide answers. This brings into question the process of governmental agencies’ response to communities reporting environmental health threats, which groups are taken seriously, and how the scientific uncertainty of testing methods determines public health and safety. The history of this school shines a light on the challenge of communities to fight for adequate safety measures from the larger systems and agencies put in place to protect them.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut diam quam nulla porttitor massa id. Elementum facilisis leo vel fringilla est ullamcorper eget nulla. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Purus semper eget duis at tellus at urna. Diam maecenas ultricies mi eget mauris. Diam ut venenatis tellus in metus vulputate eu. Ullamcorper morbi tincidunt ornare massa eget egestas. Quis eleifend quam adipiscing vitae proin. Consectetur adipiscing elit pellentesque habitant. Cras fermentum odio eu feugiat pretium nibh ipsum consequat nisl. Lectus mauris ultrices eros in cursus turpis massa. Luctus accumsan tortor posuere ac. Porttitor eget dolor morbi non arcu. Maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna molestie. Neque convallis a cras semper auctor neque vitae. In iaculis nunc sed augue. Suspendisse interdum consectetur libero id faucibus. Sit amet porttitor eget dolor.
Felis eget nunc lobortis mattis aliquam faucibus. At elementum eu facilisis sed odio. Eu facilisis sed odio morbi quis commodo odio aenean sed. Habitasse platea dictumst quisque sagittis purus sit amet. Et ultrices neque ornare aenean euismod elementum nisi quis eleifend. Velit dignissim sodales ut eu sem integer. Morbi tempus iaculis urna id volutpat lacus laoreet non curabitur. Aliquam eleifend mi in nulla posuere sollicitudin aliquam. Nunc congue nisi vitae suscipit. Convallis tellus id interdum velit laoreet id. Turpis in eu mi bibendum neque egestas. Magna fermentum iaculis eu non diam phasellus vestibulum. In cursus turpis massa tincidunt dui ut ornare lectus sit.
Non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse. Eros donec ac odio tempor orci. Nullam non nisi est sit amet facilisis magna etiam tempor. Platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit ullamcorper. Eleifend donec pretium vulputate sapien nec sagittis aliquam. Proin fermentum leo vel orci porta. Eget dolor morbi non arcu risus quis varius quam quisque. Nec ultrices dui sapien eget mi proin sed. Nisl nisi scelerisque eu ultrices vitae auctor eu augue. Pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et. Pulvinar elementum integer enim neque volutpat ac. Vel orci porta non pulvinar neque. Laoreet sit amet cursus sit amet.
Pharetra massa massa ultricies mi quis hendrerit dolor magna. Mattis nunc sed blandit libero volutpat. Nec ultrices dui sapien eget. Gravida neque convallis a cras semper auctor neque. Aenean et tortor at risus viverra adipiscing at. Quisque non tellus orci ac auctor augue mauris. Ultrices in iaculis nunc sed augue lacus. Quam elementum pulvinar etiam non. Felis bibendum ut tristique et egestas. Sagittis nisl rhoncus mattis rhoncus. Ac ut consequat semper viverra. Volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas fringilla phasellus faucibus scelerisque. Urna condimentum mattis pellentesque id nibh tortor. Erat nam at lectus urna duis convallis convallis. Malesuada fames ac turpis egestas sed tempus urna et pharetra. Pellentesque diam volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas. Interdum velit euismod in pellentesque massa placerat duis ultricies lacus. Est velit egestas dui id. Pellentesque id nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh. Id nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh nisl.
Primary Sources:
Source 1
Expected Number of Brain and Other Central Nervous System Tumors Among Students and Employees at Colonia High School Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey
https://twp.woodbridge.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/20099/NJDOH_Expected-Report_Final_5-24-2022
This source is a response from the New Jersey Department of Health to the concern from the community about high rates of cancer. From my research this will provide actual statements from the NJDOP that show how they reacted to the issue and what the community was given in terms of communication.
Source 2
This is a letter from the Commissioner of NJDEP of health to the Mayor McCormac, from May 26, 2022
This source which closely relates to source 1 is crucial because it is the point at which it was concluded that there was no identifiable source of the cancer, and that further testing of the environment would be required or pursued from the New Jersey Department of Health
Source 3
This is a letter from the superintendent of schools Joseph Massimo to the woodbridge township community mainly Colonia High School
https://twp.woodbridge.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/20102/MASSIMINO_CHS-REPORT_5-26-22
This source gives an internal look into how management within the school system handled the situation, specifically the different departments of the government and organizations being involved while acknowledging the efforts being made from individual actors within the community. This source is very similar to the first two as all 3 together give a clear guide through this incident in the form of conclusive messages from different parties from the inside rather than just an oversight of the event.
Source 4
Woodbridge Swiftly Responds to New Colonia HS Health Concerns
https://www.pcbinschools.org/_files/ugd/894a98_14bcc34a6ed6412e9ad606c1fc1bc84b.pdf
This source is look at the response from an individual from community in which she responds to the conclusion given from the health department that there is no direct causes of cancer by conducting her own test which she sent to environmental laboratories for analysis, this gives a direct example of some of the efforts being made within the community in spite of the results being found by larger organizations in an attempt to identify the cause of the cancer.
Source 5
State, federal health agencies wait for Woodbridge radiation tests
Lastly this source is a news report of the situation around the same period as the first three sources that reports on the testing taking place while it was undergoing, this serves to connect all the previous sources together while highlighting the connections between different acting parties during the testing rather than after or before.
On October 19, 2022, Tony Gallotto released an article “Woodbridge Swiftly Responds to New Colonia HS Health Concerns: Worried Mother Took Her Own Samples, Says Toxic Chemicals Found” in which he covers the ongoing issue of a potential cancer cluster due to previously determined unfounded environmental cause. The article however focuses on Edyta Komorek, an environmental scientist and mother of two students at the time enrolled at Colonia High School. Not satisfied with the testing previously conducted she took on the task for herself and collected several samples of various soil, dust, and window caulk, with which she sent to certified testing laboratories within the state for testing. These reports found traces of PCB’s and various pesticides which she did not use to claim as a source of a cancer but instead a reason for more testing of the school grounds. These findings gained the attention of both the Superintendent Joseph Massimino and Mayor John McCormac who stated they would take these findings seriously and would move forward with said findings. Gallotto’s article is an insight into the response of the community to what they believed to be insufficient testing and how they pushed for government officials to make actionable steps to getting adequate testing done to find the environmental hazards causing the cancer. It shows that there is an issue of the communities needs being either ignored or reluctantly met to the point that the health of their environment has become their responsibility to protect as the departments in place to do so are not.
To support this claim we can see clearly that the communities are not secure with the investigation previously performed, this is to the point individual actors such as Komorek had to independently fund and conduct the research herself. The research itself is a second instance of evidence, the results coming back with several traces of potential cancer related chemicals even if not directly being a causation presumably not previously discovered shows that the testing conducted by the NJ department of health was not nearly thorough enough. Lastly this was not the first part of Komorek’s plan she initially went directly to the agencies and health departments after reviewing public records to request more testing and was ultimately unable to receive anything of substance saying “there were too many unanswered questions. Nobody wanted to investigate other possible causes”. She was only able to get the attention of both the superintendent and mayor after doing her own investigation who both stated they would have the environmental experts review the new information which highlights how even after finding new potentially important information officials in power still rely on the same agencies that so far have not satisfied the needs of the communities.
Secondary Sources:
Source 1
Hurdle, Jon. “Cancer-Cluster Question Still Unresolved at Colonia High.” NJ Spotlight News, April 15, 2022. https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2022/04/cancer-cluster-brain-tumors-colonia-high-school-students-pfas-forever-chemicals-cdc-epa-neuro-oncology/.
This source explores the high rate of cancer at colonial highschool, potential causes and people affected.
This source will serve to establish facts that while easily identifiable act to broaden the readers understanding of the situation. Containing specific details on the event such as quotes from individual actors who suffered or had loved ones who suffered from cancer. It also brings to light the lack of concrete identified causes of cancer which paints a better picture of why this issue is not a simple black and white case of say a landfill of nuclear testing site but instead a communities outcry to have their health crisis remedied through proper testing and documentation.
Source 2
Johnson, Branden B., and Lynn Waishwell. “Public Response to Official Information on Cancer and Cancer Clusters.” Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal 20, no. 3 (2014): 839–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2012.740654.
This study goes into public response to cancer clusters, the same issue theorized to be occurring at Colonia High School.
This source delves into public response to cancer clusters and the role the government plays in this interaction, including their response not only to the threat of a cancer cluster but also to the public. It creates an important connection between the trust of the public and uncertainty of scientific analysis and the impact this has on the ability of a community to vie for their health concerns. Being a scholarly source it provides a heap of statistical facts that identify the problem as more than just a feeling of distrust but a measurable impact on the community.
Source 3
News, Donavyn Coffey In. “Over 100 Brain Tumors Linked to NJ High School: Is It a Cancer Cluster?” Live Science, April 27, 2022. https://www.livescience.com/nj-high-school-brain-tumors.
This article delves into a cancer cluster, why Colonia High School may have one and why it is so difficult to identify the issue.
This article is vital to understanding the core of the issue, it goes in depth of how the issue of cancer was initially identified in the late 1990’s and what makes it such a prevailing issue well into the early 2000’s. It brings in some of the response of the government and highlights the community’s effort to address the issue. Specifically how the first person to identify the issue was an environmental scientist who had graduated from Colonia highschool after being diagnosed with cancer along with a few of his family members. This connects the personal actions of actors with the overall issue by showing how an individual played a role in starting a larger movement for the community
Image Analysis:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut diam quam nulla porttitor massa id. Elementum facilisis leo vel fringilla est ullamcorper eget nulla. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Purus semper eget duis at tellus at urna. Diam maecenas ultricies mi eget mauris. Diam ut venenatis tellus in metus vulputate eu. Ullamcorper morbi tincidunt ornare massa eget egestas. Quis eleifend quam adipiscing vitae proin. Consectetur adipiscing elit pellentesque habitant. Cras fermentum odio eu feugiat pretium nibh ipsum consequat nisl. Lectus mauris ultrices eros in cursus turpis massa. Luctus accumsan tortor posuere ac. Porttitor eget dolor morbi non arcu. Maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna molestie. Neque convallis a cras semper auctor neque vitae. In iaculis nunc sed augue. Suspendisse interdum consectetur libero id faucibus. Sit amet porttitor eget dolor.
Felis eget nunc lobortis mattis aliquam faucibus. At elementum eu facilisis sed odio. Eu facilisis sed odio morbi quis commodo odio aenean sed. Habitasse platea dictumst quisque sagittis purus sit amet. Et ultrices neque ornare aenean euismod elementum nisi quis eleifend. Velit dignissim sodales ut eu sem integer. Morbi tempus iaculis urna id volutpat lacus laoreet non curabitur. Aliquam eleifend mi in nulla posuere sollicitudin aliquam. Nunc congue nisi vitae suscipit. Convallis tellus id interdum velit laoreet id. Turpis in eu mi bibendum neque egestas. Magna fermentum iaculis eu non diam phasellus vestibulum. In cursus turpis massa tincidunt dui ut ornare lectus sit.
Non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse. Eros donec ac odio tempor orci. Nullam non nisi est sit amet facilisis magna etiam tempor. Platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit ullamcorper. Eleifend donec pretium vulputate sapien nec sagittis aliquam. Proin fermentum leo vel orci porta. Eget dolor morbi non arcu risus quis varius quam quisque. Nec ultrices dui sapien eget mi proin sed. Nisl nisi scelerisque eu ultrices vitae auctor eu augue. Pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et. Pulvinar elementum integer enim neque volutpat ac. Vel orci porta non pulvinar neque. Laoreet sit amet cursus sit amet.
Pharetra massa massa ultricies mi quis hendrerit dolor magna. Mattis nunc sed blandit libero volutpat. Nec ultrices dui sapien eget. Gravida neque convallis a cras semper auctor neque. Aenean et tortor at risus viverra adipiscing at. Quisque non tellus orci ac auctor augue mauris. Ultrices in iaculis nunc sed augue lacus. Quam elementum pulvinar etiam non. Felis bibendum ut tristique et egestas. Sagittis nisl rhoncus mattis rhoncus. Ac ut consequat semper viverra. Volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas fringilla phasellus faucibus scelerisque. Urna condimentum mattis pellentesque id nibh tortor. Erat nam at lectus urna duis convallis convallis. Malesuada fames ac turpis egestas sed tempus urna et pharetra. Pellentesque diam volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas. Interdum velit euismod in pellentesque massa placerat duis ultricies lacus. Est velit egestas dui id. Pellentesque id nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh. Id nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh nisl.
Consequat semper viverra nam libero justo laoreet sit. Ornare massa eget egestas purus viverra accumsan in. Dignissim diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque fermentum dui faucibus in. Curabitur gravida arcu ac tortor dignissim convallis aenean et tortor. Erat nam at lectus urna duis convallis convallis tellus. Risus at ultrices mi tempus imperdiet nulla malesuada pellentesque elit. Turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo. Nulla facilisi etiam dignissim diam quis enim lobortis. Pellentesque massa placerat duis ultricies. Est ante in nibh mauris cursus. Massa sed elementum tempus egestas sed sed risus. Augue ut lectus arcu bibendum at varius. Neque viverra justo nec ultrices dui sapien eget mi proin. Non diam phasellus vestibulum lorem sed risus ultricies. Venenatis cras sed felis eget velit aliquet sagittis id consectetur. Tristique et egestas quis ipsum suspendisse. Facilisis volutpat est velit egestas dui. Non nisi est sit amet facilisis magna. Scelerisque mauris pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus. Bibendum at varius vel pharetra vel turpis nunc.
Data Analysis:
Colonia High School located in Colonia, New Jersey, is the focus of environmental concern regarding a potential cancer cluster, inducing an unusual amount of brain tumors in people who have attended or worked at the school. These concerns bring up a major question with the community if there are environmental conditions directly leading to long-term health issues. The site was examined using a 0.2 mile circular buffer centered around Colonia High School, this encapsulates both school and the surrounding neighborhoods who would also be at risk for any environmental factors, while excluding the larger township. The purpose behind this is to examine what potential factors within the community of Colonia High School would make getting adequate testing of the grounds so difficult.
The environmental data collected from the analysis shows that there are several stand out harmful pollution sources, with a 10.5 value for Hazardous Waste Proximity compared to the state average of 5.9 and country average of 3.5 placing it within the 82nd percentile nationally. Similarly being 82nd percentile for Risk Management Plan and 90th for Drinking-water non Compliance, along with being 86th for Traffic proximity and volume. These are not factors that immediately can be found as the causation for the cancer specifically but show a large amount of dangerous pollution sources contributing to the larger issue.
The socioeconomic data from the analysis shows an unusual pattern then what is normally associated with these types of sites. Having only 10% low income only ⅓ of the national average, 5% limited English speaking and 3% Unemployment rate both being either equal or lower than the national average, having only a 3% higher percentage of people of color than the national average. The community from the data appears to be relatively diverse with 57% non hispanic white, 18% Asian, 13% Hispanic or Latin and 6% Black. With only 4% of the households within the area being below the poverty line there does not appear to be any immediate or obvious reason this community should be struggling to feel they are properly being protected.
When looking at these sets of data simultaneously it does not appear to be the common reasons behind similar issues involving these health risks, being race and economic status. Instead I believe this data paints a story of a different form of discrimination in which the prevalent levels of pollutants within the area that are not directly linked to the cancer is allowing officials and investigators to easily dismiss and neglect the concerns of the community related to cancer. The community is largely concerned with high amounts of reported cancer cases but a lack of evidence for that specific form of health issue is putting the burden upon the community to identify and link the cause and effect for the cancer. This is creating a gap between organizations such as the New Jersey Health Department who are telling these people there is no problem and the community who is actively suffering from the problem. On top of this the demographics of this area mask the issue as they are neither impoverished or a majority minority yet facing issues of representation all the same.