There is renewed debate and concern at Colonia High School in Woodbridge, where NJ Spotlight News has been reporting on a possible cancer cluster among former students and faculty.
Edyta Komorek, a parent of students at the school, conducted independent testing and found toxic chemicals there. The new information comes after the state and school district said in May that “extensive testing for both radon and radiation in the interior and exterior of the school building produced no evidence of any cancer-causing hazards that warrant further investigation.”
“During freshman parent orientation night back in August … I was using the bathroom and I grabbed a sample of dust, which was analyzed for PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, and it came back positive. So after a couple of weeks I went back and collected a sample from soil and caulk just outside the school,” said Komorek, who is an environmental scientist. Those soil samples revealed PCBs and pesticides that are known carcinogens as well.
Komorek was among those pleading with the state Department of Environmental Protection to continue testing this spring, after testing by the township of the ground in and around the school found no traces of radon, the most likely cause of an alleged cluster of brain tumors. According to a statement from the DEP, the department is reviewing the new information, with the outcome of that review to be made available “as soon as possible.”
