An investigation is underway after five nurses working on the same floor of a Boston-area hospital were diagnosed with brain tumors.
According to Mass General Brigham Newton-Wellesley Hospital, a total of 11 employees from the maternity unit on the fifth floor have reported health concerns. Of those, five were diagnosed with benign brain tumors known as meningiomas.
Dr. Jonathan Soanis, the hospital’s associate chief medical officer, said that so far, no environmental risks have been identified that could explain the tumor cases.
He added that the investigation is being conducted in collaboration with federal health and safety agencies.
The hospital has already ruled out several potential sources, including the water supply, disposable masks, nearby X-ray machines, and the chemotherapy unit located on the floor below.
Hospital administrators say that based on current findings, there is no environmental risk to staff or patients at the facility.
The findings from the investigation, including those conducted by outside environmental firms, were also shared with the nurses’ union.
However, the nurses’ union plans to continue its own investigation. Joe Markman, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Nurses Association, said the inquiry is “still underway” and could take several more weeks.
The union has also received more than 300 survey responses, phone calls, and emails from current nurses, other healthcare professionals, and former staff at the hospital.
According to the union, several nurses came forward with workplace-related health concerns, which ultimately led to the discovery of the brain tumors.
Markman also criticized the hospital’s response, stating that they only talked to a few nurses and that the environmental testing conducted was “not comprehensive.”
The union also added that the hospital “cannot make this issue go away” by trying to offer a predetermined conclusion.
A spokesperson from a state agency said they could not provide conclusive details at this time. Federal occupational health and safety officials have not yet responded to requests for comment.
According to the American Cancer Society, a cancer cluster is defined as a higher-than-expected number of cancer cases of the same type, with the same cause, occurring in the same geographic area.
The organization says that about four in ten people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. Because of this, it’s not unusual for multiple cases to appear in a small area at the same time, even if they’re unrelated.
Sources say hospital officials plan to address the matter at an upcoming town hall meeting.
