FLORISSANT, Mo. — Under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remediation Program (FUSRAP), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for cleaning up sites with contamination tied to historic activities performed as part of the nation’s early atomic energy program.
Coldwater Creek was contaminated by radioactive material from the making of the first atomic bomb.
The USACE has said there is low-level radioactive contamination on the banks of Coldwater Creek, which is on the edge of Jana Elementary's property boundary in Florissant, Missouri.
According to its public affairs specialist Jeremy Idleman, the latest numbers show FUSRAP has removed 5,071 cubic yards of contaminated soil, which is 604 truckloads, from the creekbank behind the Hazelwood School District property.
The clean-up follows the closure of Jana Elementary, which gained national attention after mixed reports of radioactive contamination at its site.
Jana Elementary's PTA President Ashley Bernaugh has been vocal about the issues near her children's now-former school.
"I think we need to have a deeper, more community-engaged conversation for 'how clean, is clean?' and 'clean enough for what?' 'No contamination' for schoolchildren should actually mean that," Bernaugh said. "Not, that it is acceptable to subject children (or anyone) to levels of radioactive bomb wastes above natural levels in our area, which is what the Army has allowed itself to do since 2005."
In September, 5 On Your Side spoke to USACE who said at the time at that site it removed 301 truckloads of contaminated soil, which is 2,510 bank cubic yards excavated.
A cubic yard of material can be spread to cover 100 square feet (a 10-by-10-foot area) at three inches of depth.
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.
During that September interview, Phillip Moser, Chief of FUSRAP's Environmental Branch at USACE St. Louis District said, the majority of the contamination is several feet below ground surface.
At the time, Moser said it was estimated that the extent of contamination was under 6,800 cubic yards along the creek bank.
The excavation will be completed by the end of January, pending weather conditions. 5 On Your Side was told the contractors have been working four days a week, 10-hour days.
Idleman said following excavation, restoration of the property will begin immediately.
Restoration of the bank includes installing riprap to control erosion, replacing the non-contaminated soil that has already been excavated and planting native grasses and shrubs.
Idleman said they are also finalizing a floodplain analysis that will be sent to the Metropolitan Sewer District for concurrence of the restoration of the bank.
The work performed on the Jana Elementary property is part of USACE’s ongoing remediation efforts along Coldwater Creek under FUSRAP.
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.
