A cluster of nurses at Newton-Wellesley Hospital have reportedly been diagnosed with brain tumors, according to hospital officials who are assuring staff and patients that there’s “no environmental risk” at the facility.
But the Massachusetts Nurses Association says the hospital’s environmental testing was “not comprehensive,” as the union continues to investigate the situation.
The nurses diagnosed with brain tumors have worked in the maternal care labor/delivery unit on the hospital’s fifth floor.
As of earlier this week, 11 staff who worked at some point and for varying durations on the fifth floor had been interviewed by the Mass General Brigham Occupational Health Service.
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Five cases were determined to be brain tumors of three different types — all of which were benign (non-cancerous). The only type of benign tumor that had more than one case was meningioma.
Six cases were determined to not be brain tumors, but rather other health concerns.
“Based on the results of the extensive and deliberate investigation… we want to reassure our dedicated team members and all of our patients that there is not an environmental risk at Newton-Wellesley Hospital,” Mass General Brigham wrote in its “Fifth Floor Work Environment FAQs” after a staff town hall about the situation.
“We take this very seriously; our top priority is providing high-quality care in a safe and healthy environment for our staff and patients,” Mass General Brigham added.
This situation at Newton-Wellesley Hospital was first reported by WBZ.
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After hospital officials learned of the reported brain tumors, they conducted an investigation with the Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Newton-Wellesley Safety Officer, radiation and pharmaceutical safety offices, and external environmental consultants.
“Every staff member who came forward was given the opportunity to be interviewed by the Occupational Health and Safety team to evaluate each diagnosis in the context of their individual medical history and risk factors,” hospital officials said in a statement. “To evaluate for any possible environmental exposures in that area of the hospital, comprehensive environmental assessments following CDC guidelines began in December.
“The investigation found no environmental risks which could be linked to the development of a brain tumor,” the officials said, later adding, “Based on these results, we can confidently reassure our dedicated team members at Mass General Brigham/Newton-Wellesley Hospital and all our patients that there is no environmental risk at our facility. As always, the health and wellbeing of our staff, clinicians, and patients is our absolute top priority.”
Staff members have raised several concerns about this cluster of cases. The hospital addressed questions about whether brain tumor cases can be related to: wearing masks during the pandemic, the drinking water, use of x-rays, or the pharmacy on the floor below.
“There is no scientific evidence linking long-term mask use (including processing/re-wearing of masks) to the development of brain tumors,” reads the Fifth Floor Work Environment FAQs.
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Water serving the hospital is tested regularly by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.
“Out of an abundance of caution, additional water samples from the tap and ice machines have been sent for additional testing by Triumvirate Environmental, an independent environmental testing firm,” reads the FAQs. “Those results should be available in the coming week.”
Hospital officials said they use appropriate x-ray safety techniques throughout the hospital.
“To make sure that there was not another, unknown, source of ionizing radiation on the Fifth Floor, radiation levels were surveyed across the Fifth Floor using Geiger counters,” the hospital wrote. “This did not find any abnormal/increased levels of ionizing radiation.”
The pharmacy located on the fourth floor processes chemotherapy medications.
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“These are handled within an independently ventilated, closed system and with appropriate precautions and controls that have been validated as part of this investigation,” the hospital wrote. “The hoods used in the Fourth Floor pharmacy have been installed and tested to ensure that they are functioning properly and safely ventilating away from the building. This system was re-tested by Triumvirate Environmental, an independent environmental firm, as part of the investigation, and was found to be operating properly.”
The Massachusetts Nurses Association’s division of health and safety, consisting of occupational health nurses, is investigating the situation.
“We do not have a specific number (of nurses) we are releasing now because we are still verifying diagnoses via medical records. We do not have a specific cause as we are still investigating,” a spokesperson for the union said in a statement.
“We brought this to the hospital in December to urge an investigation by MGB,” the union spokesperson added. “We have been in communication with NWH nurses about this regularly and specifically with nurses who are self-reporting.”
The union spokesperson said the investigation is focused on the maternity unit, though they have reports from other areas as well.
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“We are engaging with the hospital about their inquiry,” the union spokesperson said. “They only spoke to a small number of nurses and their environmental testing was not comprehensive. The hospital cannot make this issue go away by attempting to provide a predetermined conclusion.”
BOSTON (WHDH) – State public health officials have announced two confirmed cases of measles in Massachusetts this year.
The first case came from a school-aged resident who was exposed and diagnoses while out of state. This person has remained out of state during the infectious period.
The second case was diagnosed by an adult in Greater Boston. Officials say this person had recently returned from international travel with an uncertain vaccination history.
This person visited several locations. Both local and state health officials are working with the locations to identify and notify those who were potentially exposed.
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“Our first two measles cases in 2026 demonstrate the impact that the measles outbreaks, nationally and internationally, can have here at home. Fortunately, thanks to high vaccination rates, the risk to most Massachusetts residents remains low,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD. “Measles is the most contagious respiratory virus and can cause life-threatening illness. These cases are a reminder of the need for health care providers and local health departments to remain vigilant for cases so that appropriate public health measures can be rapidly employed to prevent spread in the state. This is also a reminder that getting vaccinated is the best way for people to protect themselves from this disease.”
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Several Cape Cod and South Coast communities in Massachusetts are still digging out three days after a historic blizzard buried neighborhoods in several feet of snow, complicating emergency response efforts and prompting additional state support.
Cities and towns including Brockton, Taunton, New Bedford and Fall River received outside assistance Thursday as crews continued to plow streets and clear critical infrastructure. While road conditions have improved in many areas, officials said buried fire hydrants remain a serious concern.
NBC10 Boston obtained Taunton police body camera footage that captured first responders scrambling to locate a hydrant during a house fire on Plain Street.
“Looking for a hydrant now,” one first responder can be heard saying. “They’re all buried.”
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At one point, an officer asked a bystanders for help.
A home was burned to the ground after an explosion that left two people injured.
Officials said the home exploded after a gas leak Wednesday, leaving a family of three displaced.
The mother and daughter were treated for serious burns.
William Shivers, who helped firefighters dig out a hydrant, described the urgency.
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“We took the shovels, and we were just banging into the snow, looking for a fire hydrant,” he said.
After locating a hydrant using a map on his phone, Shivers and firefighters were able to clear it, but he said the delay could have been worse.
Two people are in the hospital and neighbors are worried about safety after an explosion and fire reduced a house to rubble.
“Imagine how many more how many more minutes that would have been wasted, you know, shoveling, just going through the snow,” said Shivers.
The case underscores the broader challenges facing first responders across the region following Monday’s storm.
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Firefighters in Watertown also experienced delays accessing hydrants during a fire on Tuesday.
Snow and ice presented challenges as firefighters battled flames Tuesday.
Gov. Maura Healey toured parts of the South Coast on Thursday and said the region was hit especially hard.
“This whole region, I think, was ground zero,” she said.
Healey said the state will continue deploying resources to affected communities.
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“We won’t take our foot off the gas at all,” she said.
The governor activated the Massachusetts National Guard. Troops assisted with snow removal in Plymouth, conducted wellness checks in Duxbury and provided medical and logistical support in Fall River.
Matt Medeiros of Fall River was praised by the governor and other officials for developing an app that allows residents to report unplowed streets.
“It’s just hoping to get those resources in and everyone just staying out of the way of trucks and equipment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mansfield implemented a parking ban at 8 p.m. Thursday to allow plows to clear roads more efficiently.
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Matthew Lawlor of WalkUp Roslindale, a nonprofit advocating for clean and safe streets, emphasized that residents also play a role in public safety.
“The fire hydrant piece of it’s essential,” he noted.
Lawlor urged neighbors to clear hydrants near their homes before an emergency strikes, while also calling on elected officials to provide some incentives.
“To the extent that people can be encouraged to dig those hydrants out as soon as they can, so that it’s not waiting until something happens,” he said.
State officials said the blizzard slowed plowing operations, contributing to the lag in sending additional help to some communities. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said it hopes to deploy its 200 pieces of equipment to impacted areas within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Massachusetts residents will be able to take Google’s online training courses about artificial intelligence and other tech topics for free under a deal thatthe state announced on Thursday.
The courses, which cover topics ranging from how to use cutting-edge AI tools for work to applications in cybersecurity and e-commerce, normally cost $49 per month. Residents who complete the courses can earn professional certifications from the tech giant.
Governor Maura Healey, who unveiled the free offering at an event at Google’s office in Kendall Square, is going all-in on AI as she mounts her reelection campaign. At a time when polls show deep mistrust of AI and some Democrats such as Senator Bernie Sanders are calling for restricting AI, Healey has embraced the technology.
“We’re working to put the benefits of this technology to use for everybody,” Healey said. “We want our innovators and companies and talent to know that this is the place to be if you want to be on board with using AI to more quickly cure diseases and find treatments and solve problems.”
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Healey previously set aside $100 million to spur AI business development in Massachusetts and earlier this month announced the state would contract with OpenAI to provide a version of ChatGPT for 40,000 state workers.
The government efforts got a big assist in January, when a group of local tech companies led by Whoop formed a private-sector coalition to promote AI startups. AI usage has exploded across many industries and stock market investors have driven up the price of some AI-related companies while selling off stocks of software companies that could be displaced by AI apps.
Google launched its online tech training courses almost 10 years ago and said it has issued professional certifications to more than one million people. Almost three-quarters of people who were certified said the courses helped them at work by leading to a promotion, new job, or raise, within six months, Google said.
The company’s new AI certification online course, announced earlier this month, covers topics such as learning how to write a prompt for an AI chatbot and how to use the apps to write software, a growing practice known as “vibe coding,” as it does not require deep knowledge of programming.
Lisa Gevelber, founder of the tech giant’s Grow with Google online training program, said the company has worked previously with other states such as Pennsylvania and Oklahoma to offer free tech training courses, but Massachusetts will be the first to offer the new AI course to residents for free.
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The online training programs for residents will be available through the Massachusetts AI Hub, an initiative funded by Healey’s earlier $100 million AI effort.
Despite Healey’s recentefforts and the state’s long history as a leader in the tech industry, most of the development of AI and the birth of leading AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity has happened elsewhere. While local universities are producing plenty of AI research, only a handful of major startups, such as music generator Suno and model developer Liquid AI, are based in Massachusetts.
In her remarks on Thursday, Healey addressed some of the underlying concerns about the technology. “People are nervous about AI and the uses of AI and the potentially negative uses of AI, and what could happen,” she said. “The more of us that know AI, that understand AI, that work with AI, the safer I believe we’re going to be, and the more appropriate guardrails will be put in place, because more people will understand. And that’s why we’re promoting AI literacy and learning in our schools, and it’s why we’re making this available through Google.”
Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman.
