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Rush Henrietta Board Considers Environmental Testing at Roth Middle School

The Rush Henrietta school board will be reviewing tonight a proposal by the district to conduct an environmental assessment at Roth Middle School following the cancer diagnoses of two middle school employees, which were somewhat similar.

The district has declined to provide any details about those illnesses, but superintendent Ken Graham said they don't believe there is any reason for concern.

In a letter posted on the district's web site, Graham said they first made an inquiry with the State Health Department.  Officials there said it could be years before any environmental factors would manifest as cancer.

The health department added that cancer is prevalent in the general population and that a "cluster" does not necessarily mean that the cases are related to an environmental trigger.

Some employees asked the district to conduct a review to see if there are any environmental factors that may have played a role in the health problems experienced by their colleagues.

A preliminary assessment prepared by Leader Professional Services, Inc., of Pittsford did not identify any risk factors.

At its regularly scheduled meeting tonight at 7 p.m., the Rush-Henrietta school board will review a proposalto conduct a more in-depth environmental site assessment at Roth Middle School that would include air and water testing.

Beth Adams joined WXXI as host of Morning Edition in 2012 after a more than two-decade radio career. She was the longtime host of the WHAM Morning News in Rochester. Her career also took her from radio stations in Elmira, New York, to Miami, Florida.