At least 7 staff members diagnosed with cancer at elementary school raises health concerns about campus

LIBERTY, Mo. (KCTV/Gray News) – Concerns about a possible cancer cluster at a Missouri elementary school may soon be under the federal microscope.

At least six staff members at Warren Hill Elementary have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 12 years, and another staff member died from liver cancer last fall.

There are just 40 teachers at the school.

U.S. Representative Sam Graves said he has notified Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the cases.

Warren Hill Elementary is near Kansas City in Liberty, Missouri, an area that Graves represents.

The building that eventually became Warren Hills Elementary opened in 2006.

Before the building opened, the site was owned by several generations of the Warren family, according to the school district. The only things ever on the property were a house and a pond.

The City of Liberty approved adding a 120-foot cell tower to the school’s campus.

Graves said the cell tower is growing concerns among some families and district employees.

Tests have previously been done at the school. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services conducted radon testing in 2015. Results found no issues of concern.

Clay County’s Health Center conducted another health study in the fall of 2022. But the test showed no evidence that the breast cancer rate at the school was higher than expected.

Still, there are parents and employees at the school who have concerns.

Some have contacted Graves’ office. He wrote that they don’t believe the testing was thorough enough to explain the number of cancer diagnoses at the school.

Ellie Marks addressed the Liberty Board of Education during its April meeting. She lives in California, but her daughter lives in the Kansas City area and told her about the school and the cancer diagnoses among teachers.

Marks told the board that her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008. She said doctors pointed to radiation from his heavy cell phone use as the reason for his cancer.

Since then, Marks said she has studied cell phones and cell phone towers. She also founded the California Brain Tumor Association.

“We’ve been told by the health department that there is no cluster. I’ve learned over the years that it is very hard to prove a cluster. It’s also very important to understand that many cancers have very long latency periods,” Marks said during the meeting.

Marks also told board members the cell phone tower near the school may be the reason for the cancer cases at the school.

“I can say without hesitation, from my knowledge and my 17 years of experience, that the emissions from the cell tower at the school are absolutely endangering the health of staff, teachers and your children. It does need to be relocated,” Marks said.

Marks also pointed out that limits set by the Federal Communications Commissions are outdated and based on exposures of 30 minutes.

“No one is measuring the cumulative exposure your children and educators are getting from 30 or more hours a week,” Marks said.

Kennedy has not yet responded to Graves’ request.