KANSAS CITY, Mo. — U.S. Rep. Sam Graves has asked the Department of Health and Human Services to help investigate cancer cases at a Missouri elementary school where, in recent years, multiple teachers have faced cancer diagnoses.

In a letter this week to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Graves said that parents, teachers and staff at Warren Hills Elementary in Liberty are looking for answers after at least six teachers have been diagnosed with cancer in recent years. The Republican congressman who represents northern Missouri, including Liberty, asked for Kennedy’s help in “uncovering the root causes” of the “concerning” number of cases.

“That’s an unbelievable and unimaginable amount of tragedy for an elementary school with fewer than 650 students and 40 teachers to experience over such a short time,” Graves wrote. “The teachers, parents and staff at Warren Hills Elementary School need some answers as to why so many of their friends, colleagues and loved ones are being diagnosed with cancer.

“Or at least the peace of mind of knowing that a truly thorough and independent study has looked into all the possible factors that could be causing this.”

Graves’ request comes after The Star’s continued coverage of the cancer diagnoses at Warren Hills and the growing concern. Last week, The Star reported that six Warren Hills families recently requested transfers for their children because of health concerns. All were denied.

At that time, a school spokesperson said Warren Hills is a “safe site for students to attend school.”

On Wednesday, after word spread of Graves’ letter to Kennedy, the district said Superintendent Jeremy Tucker had recently spoken to a representative from the congressman’s office.

Teachers began asking questions in the fall of 2022, leading the district to ask the Clay County Public Health Center to initiate a study which found that breast cancer diagnoses at the school were in line with county and state figures. In a statement released Wednesday, the district said it has worked with local and state health officials “as we have responded to specific health and environmental concerns expressed by Warren Hills staff.”

“We are thankful for their expertise and partnerships and will continue to work with them as we move forward,” the statement said. “Their work has been, and will continue to be, essential in leading and guiding us. In following the guidance and determinations made by the health agencies listed above, we have been assured that the school is safe for the Warren Hills community.

“Having said this, we also fully recognize that this school community has had questions related to this, and it is of the utmost importance to us to support them with information and resources“

Tiffany Schrader’s children attend Warren Hills. She said she believes the district needs to do additional testing to ease concerns and show that everything possible has been done to ensure that something at the school isn’t making people sick, she said.

“I’m still concerned that something could be contributing to long-term effects,” said Schrader, a nurse. “I want the school to spend the money and get an epidemiologist to come out … and alleviate the worry that we aren’t safe.”

Fear intensified at Warren Hills after a beloved teacher died of cancer in the fall. Another teacher was diagnosed soon after, bringing the number of breast cancer diagnoses since 2020 to at least six.

Cell tower near the school

Parents and teachers have asked about certain environmental concerns, with significant consternation centered on the 120 foot cell phone tower located 130 feet from the elementary school.

Constructed soon after the school opened in 2006, the tower brings in roughly $2,000 a month for the district, according to information obtained by The Star. Crown Castle currently holds the lease on the tower, the district confirmed.

Ellie Marks, founder of the California Brain Tumor Association, spoke at last month’s Liberty school board meeting and told members it was dangerous to have a cell phone tower so close to a school. She told the board that emissions from the cell tower are “absolutely endangering the health of staff, teachers and your children.”

Marks, who lives in California, has been researching the issue since 2008 when her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Her daughter lives in the Kansas City area and sent her The Star’s report in March about the cancer diagnoses at Warren Hills. Marks then reached out to a parent in Liberty and has spoken to the superintendent about her concerns regarding the cell tower.

Experts, including Marks, say Specific Absorption Rate limits set by the Federal Communications Commission nearly 30 years ago are outdated and need to be revised. These limits from 1996 account for 30-minute exposures.

Yet no studies or standards address extended exposure, such as the 30 to 35 hours a week that kids and teachers and staff are at an elementary school.

School districts throughout the nation — including in California, Oregon and Maryland — are banning cell towers near schools because of the danger, Marks said.

On Tuesday, she and Schrader and another parent met with a representative from Graves’ office. Marks said she and the parents stressed “the scientific facts that this radiation has been shown to cause cancer.”

“We also informed them that published studies have shown biological harm thousands of times below the FCC’s outdated emission standards,” Marks said. “In fact the WHO (World Health Organization) stated recently that studies show ‘high certainty’ that this radiation is linked to cancer.

“I applaud Rep. Graves for his interest in determining causation of the illnesses at the school.”

‘Getting to the bottom of this’

In his letter to Secretary Kennedy, Graves said that many parents, teachers and staff members are concerned that enough hasn’t been done to “explain the large number of cancer diagnoses at the school.”

“I firmly believe that you and your agency are the best hope we have at getting to the bottom of this and getting these folks the answers they need,” Graves wrote. “Thank you for your time and consideration of this urgent request.”

In the past, Kennedy has spoken out about the dangers of cell towers and the radiation they emit. Before he joined the Trump administration, Kennedy was chairman of Children’s Health Defense which was committed to being proactive on concerns that children were receiving excessive exposure to 5G and wireless radiation.

Children’s Health Defense and the Environmental Health Trust sued the FCC in 2020 over the agency’s decision to not update its emission standards since 1996. The commission had determined in late 2019 that there wasn’t a need to update the guidelines and that the “best available scientific evidence” supported keeping the existing Radio Frequency limits, according to information on the FCC’s website.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where the suit was filed, sided with CHD and the Environmental Health Trust. In its ruling, the court said that “the Commission failed to provide a reasoned explanation for its determination that its guidelines adequately protect against the harmful effects of exposure to radiofrequency radiation unrelated to cancer.”

The ruling also stated that “the FCC completely failed to acknowledge, let alone respond to, comments concerning the impact of RF radiation on the environment.”

Kennedy commented in 2021 after the win:

“The court’s decision exposes the FCC and FDA,” he said, “as captive agencies that have abandoned their duty to protect public health in favor of a single-minded crusade to increase telecom industry profits.”

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