DEP, Rutgers, and NJ Spotlight Urged To Correct Misleading Reporting On Cancer Risks
This is a followup on my prior post today on the alleged Colonia High School cancer cluster story.
I just sent the following email to Rutgers professor Dr. Keith Cooper, who I know as head of the NJ Drinking Water Quality Institute. I sent it to him because I do not have contact information for his Rutgers colleague Dr. Laumbach.
I also sent it to DEP Commissioner LaTourette in hopes that DEP can clarify the real risk issues, including whether DEP sampled indoor and ambient air.
Finally, I sent it to NJ Spotlight reporter Jon Hurdle and his editor John McAlpin in hopes that Spotlight can remedy reporting flaws in followup coverage:
Dear Dr. Cooper – I am writing to you to request that you pass on my concerns to your colleague, Dr. Laumbach, regarding his quotes in today’s NJ Spotlight story on the alleged cancer cluster at Colonia HS in Woodbridge.
Dr. Laumbach’s quotes, if accurate and in context, are misleading by arbitrarily narrowing the scope of potential exposures and risks to ionizing radiation and the location of those exposures to the school environment.
Of course, this ignores potential chemical exposures from multiple exposure pathways and multiple locations (as well as
ignoring cumulative risks and population vulnerabilities). As a result, the actual risks are greatly minimized.
Dr. Laumbach’s research on PFAS in Paulsboro suffers similar fatal flaws.
I am copying DEP Commissioner and NJ Spotlight reporter Jon Hurdle in hopes of publicly clarifying and correctly communicating these risk and public health issues.
Respectfully,