People working at a Carlsbad school want the air, water and soil tested on campus to check if pesticides once used in the area are making them sick. State officials are gathering information to determine if there's a cancer cluster in the city.
Employees at Kelly Elementary School say an alarming number of staff and former students developed serious illnesses including cancer over the last several years. Some have died.
Jenifer Jaffe is a fourth-grade teacher at Kelly. She is in the advanced stages of a rare form of cancer called leiomyosarcoma. She says testing at Carlsbad High School in 2008 showed insecticides like arsenic, chlordane and dieldrin in the soil.
"I don't think it's too far of a leap to presume that there's a possibility to presume there are contaminants in the ground at Kelly School," Jaffe said.
School district officials say they're waiting for state investigators to determine whether the number of people who have been stricken with cancer is higher than normal before deciding whether testing should be done.
