A US nursing union is calling for further investigation after an internal probe found no environmental risks within a Boston hospital where five nurses, on the same floor, all developed brain tumours.
Mass General Brigham Newton-Wellesley Hospital said that in total, 11 employees from the fifth-floor maternity unit had identified health concerns, with five of them having brain tumours, two of which are the most common – meningioma – reports NBC.
“The investigation found no environmental risks that could be linked to the tumours,” said a spokesperson.
The hospital’s investigation was completed in collaboration with government health and safety officials, and considered multiple possible sources. It ruled out disposable masks, the water supply, nearby x-rays, and chemotherapy treatment on the floor below, the hospital said.
“Based on these results, … there is no environmental risk at our facility,” the administrators said.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association said it would continue to investigate.
“Right now, the best way we can help is to complete an independent, scientific investigation,” said a spokesperson. The union indicated that nurses had come forward with workplace health concerns, which led to the discovery of those with tumours.
“The hospital spoke only to a small number of nurses, and their environmental testing was not comprehensive,” he said. “They cannot make this issue go away by attempting to provide a predetermined conclusion.”
The American Cancer Society said that to meet the definition of a cancer cluster, occurrences must be the same type, in the same area, with the same cause, and affecting a number of people that’s “greater than expected” when a baseline for occurrences is established.
“Nearly four out of 10 people in the United States will develop cancer during their lifetimes,” the society said on its cancer clusters webpage. “So, it’s not uncommon for several people in a relatively small area to develop cancer around the same time.”
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