ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo– The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not appear any closer to being able to test all Hazelwood School District properties for radiation more than a month after the Board of Education first made the request.

What You Need To Know

  • The Hazelwood School Board asked the federal government to test all district property for radiation in December
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it needs congressional authority to conduct the testing
  • Two of three sets of testing at Jana Elementary School found no cause for concern over radiation
  • Students at Jana Elementary have been redistricted to other buildings

The board voted in December to ask the federal government to test all district property after two sets of testing done by the Army Corps and a St. Charles County firm paid for by the district indicated no concern of Manhattan Project-era radioactive waste at Jana Elementary in Florissant.

Testing done last summer at the school by a company paid for by plaintiffs' attorneys in a class-action lawsuit raised alarm and led the district to close the building, sending students to other locations.

The board resolution in December asking for district-wide testing also included a move to "secure financial support for any and all related radioactive contamination costs to the District."

In a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers this week, a school district attorney noted the agency doesn’t have the congressional authority or funding to carry out the request.

Board member, attorney Cindy Ormsby wrote, “understand that there is a path that the USACE could receive that authority through the Department of Energy. I have been directed to write a letter to the DOE to request a site eligibility evaluation based on increased public interest. Without that additional authority, however, the Board is well aware of the Corps’ limitations.” 

“We are actively assessing alternate means of assisting HSD in meeting their objective. We stand, steadfast and strong, by the side of Hazelwood School District and will do everything we can to provide them a path toward the peace of mind their students, parents, faculty and staff deserve,” a U.S. Army Corps spokesman told Spectrum News Thursday.

The U.S. Army Corps spokesman also noted the agency will continue to remediation activities along Coldwater Creek to support the community in which it serves. Jana Elementary sits next to Coldwater Creek, which was contaminated in the 1940s and 1950s when waste from atomic bomb material made in the area got into the waterway. 

A Department of Energy spokesman told Spectrum News Thursday it would defer to the Army Corps of Engineers on the issue but would offer technical support if requested.

The Hazelwood School District did not respond to a request for comment. 

Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush wrote the Army Corps of Engineers saying in part that “USACE must prioritize the Hazelwood School District’s request for additional testing and take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of the school's properties as soon as possible. The health and wellbeing of the students must be our top priority.”

The letter also called for the federal government to reimburse the district for testing done at its own expense.