by A former student of the Michigan State University claims that she diagnosed cancer after her work at school was exposed to dangerous chemicals.
Ling Long Wei, an international student from China, worked as a research assistant in the state of Michigan from 2008 to 2011 and acquired a master’s degree at the school’s gardening program. Wei, now 41 and lives in the United States, asserted in a draft law The independentthat she developed thyroid cancer after her work had exposed to pesticides and herbicides without proper training or safety equipment.
The spokesman for the Michigan State University, Amber McCann The independent, Citing pending legal disputes. However, she said that the school “prioritizes the health and security of our entire campus community”.
“Adequate and necessary training and the necessary personal protective equipment takes place in accordance with the applicable university guidelines as well as the state and state laws,” said McCann.
It was Weis “Dream” to study Michigan, a leading agricultural science school in the state, her lawyer Maya Greene said at a press conference on Monday. When she arrived for the first time, Wei had to work as a student research assistant and carry out field research as part of her horticultural course research, the draft law said.
As part of this field research, Weis asked superiors to travel to fields outside the campus in order to spray herbicides and pesticides. The draft of the lawsuit indicates. Wei says that work could take up to eight hours a day.
Wei claims that she has not received any real training in advance. Also, she also had no “real mask, gloves or overalls” to deal with the chemicals, according to the design suit.
“During the sprays of these toxic chemicals, the wind often blew the chemicals in Ms. Weisen face,” says the documents. “Ms. Wei was exposed to dangerous pesticides for over 7,000 hours, unprotected and unporned.”
Wei says she experienced shortness of breath in 2010, but the school’s health center told her that it was due to anxiety. Their superiors then assured her that the chemicals are “safe”, the design says.
“Ms. Wei has rely on the assurance of the supervisor’s program and the dangerous pesticides and herbicides have been sprayed without continued [personal protective equipment]”The design indicates.” Ms. Wei continued to have symptoms, but feared that they are talking to themselves for intimidating and enemy treatment by superiors in the program. “
The treatment of this pesticides without proper training or equipment caused whitening to develop papillary thyroid carcinoma, claims the lawsuit. According to the Thyroid Center at Columbia University, papillary thyroid cancer is the most common form of thyroid cancer that make up about 80 percent of cases.
Weii was diagnosed in 2024 and underwent “a number of medical interventions and operations for the treatment of her cancer,” the draft law said. According to a spokesman for the law firm, the Greenlight Law Firm, Wei is now in remission. Wei said that the cancer had left her with hormone disorders that cause her fatigue and make it difficult to have children. Your cancer could also come back.
“My relaxation trip was very challenging,” said Wei at the press conference. “After subjecting my thyroid cancer surgery, I had to adapt every day to take medication to regulate my hormone level.”
“I have to take thyroid pills every day for the rest of my life,” she added. “I will live with my constant scar and I will always have to fight depression because of the hormone -related weights.”
On Friday, Wei Maya Greene told Weis Lawyer The independent that the lawsuit had not yet been submitted.
Cancer researcher Still examine the exact connection between pesticides and cancer.
Some pesticides are carcinogenic and, according to the National Pesticide Information Center, a joint initiative by Oregon State University and the US environmental protection authority, were associated with cancer cases. Exposure to a pesticide, which is a carcinogenic, does not mean that a cancer diagnosis is safe, but more risk than if a person is not exposed, says the center.
According to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a leading research and treatment center, it is difficult for doctors to determine what exactly causes a patient’s cancer.
“It is almost impossible to capture a single case of cancer to a certain culprit with a certainty of 100 percent,” says the center’s website.
This article was changed on August 22, 2025. Previously, Wei’s lawsuit said in front of the Ingham County Circuit Court, but the newspapers had to be submitted at the time of publication.
