2nd Round Of Air, Soil Testing Done At Colonia High School

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A second round of testing took place at Colonia High School this November, after a former parent brought forward a new claim of possible toxic chemicals there.

Soil testing was done from Nov. 7 - 11, when school was closed for fall break, said Woodbridge superintendent Joseph Massimino in this letter home to parents last week.

During that week, approximately 150 soil samples were taken from locations on the perimeter of the school building. The testing was done by T&M Associates, working with representatives from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Additionally, T&M Associates did air quality testing inside Colonia High School this past weekend, Nov. 19 and 20. Air quality samples were taken from classrooms, stairways, hallways, bathrooms and common areas throughout the school, said the superintendent.

Both soil and air quality results are expected in a few weeks, said Massimino. The public may have already noticed signs outside Colonia High School as required by law that testing is being done at the site.

"The fact that sampling is being conducted should not, in and of itself, be considered a cause for concern," said Massimino in his letter. He also said the DEP told the school district Colonia High is safe for students and teachers to be in the building while testing is done.

The Woodbridge school district decided to do this second round of air and soil testing after the mother of two Colonia High students said she found cancer-causing agents in soil and dust she collected from the high school bathrooms, window sills and elsewhere.

The mother, Edyta Komorek, works as an environmental scientist. She said she has since taken her two children out of Colonia High in light of what she found. Komorek told the media that she did her own testing in August, before school started, because she was not convinced when state testing at the high school last spring turned up negative.

The state DEP and Woodbridge did that first round of testing last April and May, after a 1989 Colonia High School grad said he found 121 cases of brain cancer in Colonia grads, and theorized there could be a link to the high school.

Over the span of several weeks this past May, air and soil testing was done at Colonia High School.

Those tests turned up no evidence of radon, radiological contamination or any high amounts of cancer-causing chemicals, said NJ DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette and Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli at the time.

On this topic: More Testing Likely At Colonia High School After New Chemical Claims (Oct. 20)

One Woodbridge Parent Skeptical Of Claims Of Colonia High Toxins (Oct. 24)