Concerns of a possible cancer cluster tied to Colonia High School in Woodbridge grabbed national attention in recent months. But after weeks of on-site radiation testing, state officials have concluded the school and its grounds are safe. On this week’s editon of Chat Box with David Cruz, Joanna Gagis spoke with Al Lupiano for his reaction to the state’s announcement. Lupiano was the whistleblower who compiled a list of more than 100 cases of former students and staff of Colonia High who developed cancer.
Lupiano said he was “truly flabbergasted” by the state’s conclusions. “Going into this process, we had never stated that radon and radiation were the only definitive tests that we should be performing. It was always meant to be phase one of a multi-approach test. They had done these tests early April and my understanding was that we would immediately go into air, water and soil samples … There’s a lot more here going on than just looking at radon and calling it a day.”
“We have the smoking gun,” said Lupiano, who urged testing for likely carcinogens other than radiation. “It’s vey easy to be dismissive. Do the science, do the work, and prove us wrong.”
