ST. LOUIS–Legislation filed in the U.S. Senate this week would require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do more than test all Hazelwood School District property for radiation, a request the district made to the federal government in December after two of three tests conducted at a Florissant elementary school found the site was radiologically safe.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said it needs new congressional authorization before it can test all Hazelwood School property for radiation.
  • Students at Jana Elementary School have been at other district schools since late November.
  • "The Justice for Jana Elementary Act" would also build a fund to pay for schools impacted by Manhattan Project-era radiation cleanup to do tests and potentially build new buildings.

The “Justice for Jana Elementary Act” would also order a Department of Energy review of all testing done at the school.

Private testing done by a firm paid for by plaintiffs attorneys in a class-action lawsuit revealed what it said were high levels of radioactive contamination when it's report was released in October 2022. Students and staff went into remote learning before being redistricted to other school buildings in late November.

Follow up tests performed by the Army Corps of Engineers and a firm paid for by the district contradicted those claims in November, saying the schools ”were radiologically safe”. The Army Corps of Engineers told Spectrum News this week that its final report is expected to be done by the spring.

Sen. Joe Manchin D-W.Va., who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, told Hawley at a committee hearing last month that it would take an act of Congress to authorize and fund district-wide testing for Hazelwood Schools, some of which are in the Coldwater Creek floodplain, the subject of federal cleanup over Manhattan Project-era radiation for years.

Hawley’s bill would set new remediation goals for the Jana Elementary site.

An Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson tells Spectrum News that of the nearly 800 soil samples taken at the Jana location, some do test above what are known as background levels which can be the result of naturally occurring sources, in addition to coming from man-made sources.

Any result below those remedial goals “are determined to be protective to human health and the environment, and post no additional health risks,” an Army Corps spokesman said Wednesday. The current goals were set by the EPA and other federal agencies, which included public involvement.

The Senate bill would also set up a federal fund to help areas impacted by Manhattan Project-era waste pay for school testing and new school construction.

A spokesperson for Senator Manchin did not return a message seeking comment on the legislation. A spokesperson for the Hazelwood School district declined comment Wednesday.