ST. LOUIS – The third and final round of reports looking into radioactive contamination at Jana Elementary school confirms the immediate school grounds are safe from a “radiological standpoint,” according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Army Corps will hold a public meeting on June 8 to discuss its finding of all three reports on radioactive testing from Jana Elementary School. 

The third report, which focused on soil samples, came to the same conclusion as two previous reports, that the school is safe. 

“Like the first two reports released April 25 and May 9, this report also builds upon the preliminary results we shared with the community last November. It provides additional data from our health physics surveys and sampling that confirms there are no areas of radiological concern in or around the school,” said Phil Moser, St. Louis District program manager for Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).

Moser added crews are currently in the process of removing the actual contamination on the banks of the Coldwater Creek. He expects that work to be done in the fall. 

The 507 soil samples analyzed in the third report detail how the soil outside the current remediation area meets the criteria for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure. 

The Hazelwood School District confirmed earlier this year that there is “no expectation” that Jana Elementary school will reopen. 

The school closed in the fall of 2022 and students reassigned to other schools after private tests conducted on behalf of attorneys in a class action lawsuit suggested the school was contaminated by radioactive material. 

Additional testing by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a separate third party company paid for by the district found no such concerns.

The U.S. Senate passed Sen. Josh Hawley’s Justice for Jana bill. It calls for a Department of Energy review of the Army Corps of Engineers’ findings, and would also establish a fund for school districts to access to pay for testing or new schools.

The final Army Corps report is available online under “Jana Elementary Final Reports.”