In case you haven’t heard, a sudden cluster of brain tumor cases (100+ and counting) among former students and staff of Colonia High School in Woodbridge, N.J., has left everyone — authorities, students, alumni — mystified, concerned, and demanding for answers.

The city of Woodbridge is taking the lead in the investigation, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for testing. The school graduated roughly 15,000 people over the last 30 years. All sections and areas are being tested for radiation to determine if there is a link between the school and the number of cancer cases diagnosed.

An old radioactive sampling plant

One former student of Colonia High School, Al Lupiano, now an environmental scientist, had noticed that people he knew from the institution were getting sick. He himself was diagnosed with a brain tumor 20 years ago, before his wife had one, and so did his sister, who died in February, aged 44.

Al believes there's a link between the school and brain tumors diagnosed in 108 people over a period of three decades, ending in the early 2000s.

The 50-year-old claims the diseases could be traced back to the Middlesex Sampling Plant, a nearby site that was used, under the direction of the Manhattan Project, to crush, dry, store, package, and ship uranium ore for the development of the atomic bomb.

What the school is doing about it

The local township and the school district have already coordinated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Federal Environmental Protection, and the state Department of Health and Environmental Protection.

Mayor McCormac has requested the state Department of Education to check files from the school’s construction to see if there is a connection between the development of brain tumors and the property’s premises. As of today, the mayor believes there is a slim chance that cancer-causing materials were in the vacant lot prior to construction. But considering the fact that the school was built 55 years ago, further investigation is indeed necessary.

Residents of Colonia, NJ, are naturally expressing concerns about the possible cancer link. The good news, for now, is that the situation seems to be isolated only to those who worked and attended the high school.

Radiological testing is underway

An emergency contract of $221,350 has been approved for an engineering firm to conduct radiological assessments at the school.

T&M Associates of Middletown and its team of environmentalists are slated to begin collecting data at the high school this weekend by placing radon canisters throughout the building to collect air samples, according to township officials.

Testing is expected to end before the end of April, and then it will be about a month before the results come back.

Do you need a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Were you or a loved one injured in New Jersey due to harmful radon exposure at Colonia High School?

What you don’t want is to wait until the medical bills pile up while you wait for the negligent party or their insurance company to do the right thing. Right now, you need an aggressive personal injury attorney on your side, fighting to get you the compensation you deserve.