An elementary school in suburban St. Louis has significant radioactive contamination from waste originating from World War II-era nuclear weapons.
Jana Elementary School, part of the Hazelwood School District in Florissant, Missouri sits near the floodplains of Coldwater Creek, which was contaminated by the Army when radioactive waste from the production of nuclear weapons was dumped near the St. Louis Lambert International Airport, which also sits near Coldwater Creek.
The US Army Corps of Engineers have been cleaning the area of nuclear waste for more than 20 years. A previous report by the Corps found contamination in the area but at much lower levels and did not look in and around the school. This new report, done by the Boston Chemical Data Corporation, found radiation levels “far in excess” of what they expected. The report specifically mentioned the Kindergarten play area, basketball court, cafeteria, boiler room, and school library as having high levels of lead 210, polonium, radium, and other toxins.
Boston Chemical did not reveal who financed the study.
“I was heartbroken. It sounds so cliché, but it takes your breath from you,” Ashley Bernaugh, president of the Jana PTA said. “We should be thinking about fundraisers and bake sales, but instead, we're worrying about bomb waste.”
The contamination is expected to dominate the Hazelwood School District board meeting on Tuesday.
14 October 2022, 20:13 GMT
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, internal radiation contamination, like when radioactive particles are breathed in or swallowed, can stay in the body and is absorbed by organs. Radiation exposure is known to cause most types of cancer, including leukemia and various skin and bone cancers.
The report notes that “a significant remedial program will be required to bring conditions at the school in line with expectations.” The previous Corps study also found “low-dose” contamination in the soil of residential homes near Coldwater Creek.
“The time has passed. It's long passed. This has been here since the 1940s,” Bernaugh said.