A troubling development has occurred at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts, as multiple nurses working in the same unit have been diagnosed with brain tumors. The cases have prompted investigations by both the hospital and the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), raising questions about potential environmental or occupational causes.
As of April 1, officials from Mass General Brigham’s Newton-Wellesley Hospital told NBC10 Boston they have interviewed 11 staffers from various shifts on the fifth-floor maternal care labor and delivery unit.So far, they’ve identified five cases of three different types of brain tumors, all benign. Six other cases were ruled out as brain tumors and classified as “other health concerns.”However, a nurse recently diagnosed with a brain tumor claims that as many as 10 employees on the floor have been struck by different brain tumors in recent years — some of which were cancerous.
There are questions being raised about the extent of the hospital investigation, and a nurses’ union is following up with a more extensive review of staff medical records.
“After we became aware of reported brain tumors in individuals who currently or previously had worked in the same area of the hospital, we conducted an extensive investigation in collaboration with the Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Newton-Wellesley Safety Officer, radiation and pharmaceutical safety offices, and external environmental consultants,” the hospital said in a statement.”Every staff member who came forward was given the opportunity to be interviewed by the Occupational Health and Safety team to evaluate each diagnosis in the context of their individual medical history and risk factors. To evaluate for any possible environmental exposures in that area of the hospital, comprehensive environmental assessments following CDC guidelines began in December.“The investigation found no environmental risks which could be linked to the development of a brain tumor.”The Massachusetts Nurses Association told the outlet that the hospital’s environmental testing was not comprehensive. A union representative said it had received more than 300 responses from people at Newton-Wellesley and is working to obtain medical records and provide a direct follow-up.
The nurses are also calling for an independent investigation. It must be noted that some of the diagnoses pre-date covid.
…[D]espite the investigation, as worries persist, the nurses are calling for an independent investigation.Paula Ward of the Massachusetts Nurse Association told the outlet:’ I think the concern is [that] we don’t know what it is, and nurses are scared, they’re worried, and they want to make sure they’re not working in an unsafe place.”I think the nurses should be the first people – because we’re the ones that brought it to their attention – to be told, and we feel like we have been the last to be informed on anything,’ the anonymous nurse added.A spokesperson for Newton-Wellesley Hospital confirmed that not all of the nurses were on the unit at the same time and noted that some of the diagnoses pre-date the Covid-19 pandemic.
Studies of occupational diseases related to brain tumor development show a wide array of industries are at higher risk, but none of them are related to situations association with nursing.
“Brain cancer incidence and mortality have been increasing in many industrialized countries, particularly among elderly people,” said Tongzhang Zheng, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale School of Medicine and principal investigator of the findings published in a recent issue of the journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. “Improved diagnosis and access to medical care, genetic predisposition, and lifestyle factors, such as smoking, drinking alcohol and diet, are not enough to explain the increase.””The major findings of this investigation were that an increased risk of brain cancer was associated with agricultural industry and farm occupations; industries producing rubber and miscellaneous plastic products; industries and occupations which have a potential for exposure to gasoline or solvents; industries producing apparel and other textile products; employment in electric services, and electrical and electronic equipment, plumbing, heating, and air conditioning, and sheet metal working industries,” Zheng said.
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