ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) completed its project to remove radioactive soil near the former Jana Elementary School in north St. Louis County.
The project, which was along the banks of Coldwater Creek on the edge of the now-closed elementary school's property, included the excavation of 19,500 cubic yards of soil, which is more than eight Olympic-size swimming pools worth of soil.
The Army Corps of Engineers said the 7,416 cubic yards of contaminated soil was removed and shipped out of the state. This is the equivalent to more than two Olympic-size pools.
The work performed on the Jana Elementary property is part of ongoing remediation efforts along Coldwater Creek by the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Coldwater Creek was contaminated by radioactive material from the making of the first atomic bomb.
St. Louis District Program Manager for FUSRAP Phil Moser said, "Some of the significant challenges were where the contamination was, pretty far down the creek bank and deep under the surface of the creek bank itself and working in an active stream."
The Army Corps said most of the soil excavated as part of the project was not contaminated but needed to be moved to get to the contaminated soil. The uncontaminated soil was then used as backfill during the restoration project.
The restoration was completed by installing a riprap to prevent erosion and planting grass. Native plants will be planted along the riprap to provide more erosion protection and ensure the grass is growing.
Once this happens, a final walk through will be completed between USACE and the property owner.
Photos: Army Corps of Engineers remediation project near Jana Elementary School
"We are immensely proud of the hard work and dedication exhibited by everyone involved in this project," said Col. Andy Pannier, commander of the St. Louis District. "Their commitment reflects our mission to protect and restore the environment and enhances the quality of life for our community."
FUSRAP remediates the contaminated soil by loading it onto trucks taken to the St. Louis Airport Site, known as SLAPS.
From there, it's loaded onto railcars and shipped to US Ecology in Michigan, an approved disposal facility.
In 2022, Jana Elementary gained national attention after conflicting reports of radioactive contamination at its site and within the school. In March 2023, the school shared it will not re-open.
Timeline of Jana Elementary's closure:
- On Aug. 5, 2022, parents at Jana Elementary School received a letter saying that on Jan. 27, 2022, the district was notified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that soil sampling showed a presence of low-level radioactive contamination on the banks of Coldwater Creek, which is on the edge of Jana's property boundary.
- A private group, Boston Chemical Data Corp. arrived in St. Louis on Aug. 15, 2022, to test Jana Elementary, to get results for a class action lawsuit.
- Boston Chemical Data Corp. officially released the report on Oct. 10. It indicated high levels of radioactive Polonium, also known as Pb 210, inside the school building and on the playground areas.
- Jana's PTA got a hold of the information on Oct. 12, presented the information in a meeting to the rest of the PTA and broke the news on Oct. 14 to school families and Hazelwood released a statement right after.
- In October 2022, teachers packed up their classrooms in a matter of 48 hours to conduct virtual learning.
- On Nov. 9, 2022, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said preliminary results of contamination testing at Jana Elementary School showed no levels of radiation higher than “the level of radioactivity Mother Nature" already provides.
- On Nov. 11, 2022, school officials asked a third testing group SCI Engineering Inc. to do even more samples within the district: Hazelwood Central High School football field was one site. A district spokesperson confirmed this is being done out of an abundance of caution because a former employee made a report saying Jana soil may have been used to level the ground more than 25 years ago.
- On Nov. 15, 2022, SCI Engineering determined the levels of radioactivity found at Jana Elementary School were safe.
- On Nov. 28, 2022, Jana students reported to one of five different schools.
- On Jan. 23, 2023, the board sent a letter to the Department of Energy asking them to test the entire district, as they can determine what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can test.
In regards to the recent clean up, former Jana PTA President Ashley Bernaugh said, "This just means a small section of 14-mile creek they are remediating is a little safer. I think the school board deserves credit for making sure the school was closed so our kids weren’t playing, having field day, celebrating the end of school as radioactive waste was driving by and being dug up."
As far as the rest of the contaminated areas along Coldwater Creek, a rough projection for completion is scheduled for 2035 with a full turnover to the Department of Energy in 2038.
FUSRAP team is hosting an open house from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12 at the Florissant Municipal Courts Building. It will also be livestreamed on the Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District Facebook page.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the volume of contaminated soil removed from the site. This story has been updated to correct that information.