DENVER — One local man says he’s not satisfied with the results of the MSU Denver cancer investigation.
“With the number of people in the same building that have gotten cancer, I refuse to accept that there’s not a connection and that it’s just a coincidence,” said Rick Potempa.
His wife, Donna, died in May at the age of 52 after a long battle with renal cell carcinoma.
Rick says Donna is not one of the four cases investigated, but she worked in the history department at MSU, and she worked in the West Classroom Building before moving to the Central Classroom Building.
“She really enjoyed working for Metro,” Potempa said.
The independent investigations by two companies did not reveal a connection between four other cancer cases and the West Classroom Building. MSU says that conclusion was based on visual observation, direct-reading meter monitoring and analytical results.
But Rick says he wants more testing to be done and other families to come forward. He thinks his wife would want that as well.
“She would want me to not just let this go, and I’m not going to let it go,” Rick said.
MSU says since its investigation is complete, any future concerns should be shared with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment by contacting their toxicology hotline at 303-692-2606 or CDPHE_ToxCall@state.co.us