FLORISSANT, Mo. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) said there are "no areas of radiological concerns" in or around Jana Elementary School in their third and final report.
This is the latest development in a saga that has spanned months of conflicting reports regarding levels of radioactive contamination at the school.
The final report detailed the results of extensive sampling and testing at Jana Elementary School. The previous two reports were released on April 25 and May 9.
The report, which focused on soil sampling conducted under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP), stated that the immediate school ground is "safe from a radiological standpoint."
Surfaces and structures that were tested include floors, tables, cabinets, desks, bookshelves, ducting and piping, kitchen equipment, outdoor pavement and recreational equipment. It also tested the lower two meters of interior and exterior walls.
“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," said Phil Moser, St. Louis District program manager for FUSRAP. "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. Our efforts to provide real results to the community continue. We are currently in the process of removing the actual contamination in the Coldwater Creek creekbank which we anticipate completing this fall, to be followed by a separate post-remediation report.”
The Army Corps began its own testing after an independent report released in October claimed to have found high levels of radioactive contamination within and around Jana Elementary. The school sits near Coldwater Creek, which was contaminated by radioactive materials from bombs used in Japan during World War II.
The USACE will host a public meeting on Thursday, June 8 to discuss the findings with the community. No official time or place has been announced.
School leaders announced in March that the school was not expected to reopen.
You can find and read all three reports on the results from Jana Elementary here.