This story is about a cancer cluster at the Riverside Elementary School. It appears that the authorities have tested all the 'usual' toxic suspects except for electro magnetic radiation. This is strange because there are several antennas is close proximity to this school and other schools in the area.
Please follow the link below to gotemf2. You will find a great amount of information about this situation. You will also find that this site is a great source for EMR information, in general.
Martin
WEEP
The Canadian Initiative to stop
Wireless, Electric, and
Electromagnetic Pollution
www.weepinitiative.org
School location - 3 Cell Towers,
other schools in same area could follow
http://members.aol.com/gotemf2
TITLE : Riverside teacher cases lead to study by cancer agency
Union worried after 10 staff diagnosed.
Maria Rantanen, The Times
Published: Tuesday, January 08, 2008
The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows teachers' union has called on the school district to investigate why an estimated 10 teachers at Riverside Elementary have been diagnosed with cancer over the past few years.
The teachers' union is asking that all staff cancer cases be looked at and the school inspected for any potential links. "We think that's a fairly high number compared to the general population," MRTA president Drusilla Wilson said.
A representative from WorkSafe B.C., Dr. Goran Krstic from Fraser Health, district staff and the union got together late last year for what Wilson called an "unsatisfactory meeting" to look into the high number of cancer cases.
"We're asking they exercise all due diligence in determining whether there are any factors they need to be aware of," Wilson said.
But the school board's occupational health and safety officer, Judy Dueck, said there are a "whole bunch of variables" that need to be looked at to determine whether this is a cancer cluster or just a coincidence.
While the air has been tested for mold because of previous problems, Dr. Goran Krstic of Fraser Health suggested at the meeting the school district conduct tests of "volatile organic chemicals" in the air.
Radon has been ruled out because of the geographical area the school is located in.
"We're certainly prepared to carry through because the anxiety levels are high," Dueck said. She added that while she's concerned about the health of staff members, discussions with medical staff have led her to understand it's probably not a cluster.
A study will be led by the B.C. Cancer Agency, and Dueck is starting to collect data for it, starting with a staff survey at Riverside.
The latest cancer victim from Riverside died on Jan. 2 of brain cancer, whereas her other colleagues who have been diagnosed have recovered. The cancer types have ranged from breast cancer, throat and larynx cancer, and leukemia, according to Wilson.
In the fall, teachers at the school started discussing how many of them have had cancer, and they approached the union with their concerns.
"It did cause some alarm among staff," Wilson said. The school, which was built in the 1980s, has a lot of carpeting on the walls. "We now know that not only is it not a good idea in terms of the actual things it might have in it -- actual chemical substances that break down over time -- it harbours dust and mites," Wilson said, adding that the carpeting is being removed.
WorkSafe B.C.'s response at the meeting was that it's not a work safety issue, but Wilson points out that is usually their response.
"My sense of WorkSafe B.C. is their first response to any claim is 'no' and if you appeal it they look at it again," Wilson said, adding that admitting the school is an unhealthy workplace opens it up to a lot of liability issues.
© Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times 2008
