by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Last night the Hazelwood School District of St. Louis County voted to temporarily close its Jane Elementary School campus after a new report found significant levels of radioactive contamination in the school's library, kitchen, classrooms, fields, and playgrounds. Even dust samples taken inside of the school were found to be contaminated.
The radioactivity is believed to be related to nuclear waste which was dumped near Coldwater Creek as a result of atomic weapons production during World War II. Coldwater Creek is close the the school and flows into the Missouri River.
Last summer the US Army Corps of Engineers, which has been cleaning up the site for many years, released a report - as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request - which indicated there was radiation near the creek at levels lower than those reported this week by the Boston Chemical Data Corporation. The Corps did no testing within 300 feet of the school.
At this point it remains unclear who commissioned the radiation testing by Boston Chemical Data Corporation. The company took its samples in August, and in the report just released stated that levels of isotope lead-210, polonium, radium, and other toxins were "far in excess" of what the company had expected to find. The report also said that inhaling or ingesting these radioactive materials can cause significant injury.
The school district has stated that children enrolled in the school will begin remote education via computers next week and should be transferred to other schools by the end of November.
Clearly a number of health, safety, and environmental concerns have been raised - concerns which need the immediate attention of local, state, and national leaders. Hesitation and procrastination are no longer options!
1 comment:
A curious mind might ask if a suspected cancer cluster among students, staff, teachers, and neighbors of the school mandated the testing.
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