A Boston-area hospital, Mass General Brigham Newton-Wellesley Hospital, is investigating after five nurses working on the same floor developed benign brain tumors. In total, 11 employees from the maternity unit raised health concerns, with two of them having the most common type of benign tumor, meningioma. The hospital conducted an investigation with government health and safety officials and ruled out environmental risks such as disposable masks, water supply, x-rays, and chemotherapy treatment. The hospital administrators assert that there is no environmental risk at the facility. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents the nurses, plans to continue investigating independently. The organization believes that the hospital’s investigation was not comprehensive and cannot dismiss the issue with predetermined conclusions. A state agency and federal occupational health and safety officials have not provided conclusive information on the matter. According to the American Cancer Society, to qualify as a cancer cluster, occurrences must be the same type, in the same area, with the same cause, and affecting a higher number of people than expected. The society notes that cancer is common in the United States, so multiple cases in a small area may not necessarily indicate a cluster.
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