Calls for a cleanup are growing after nuclear waste was found at a northern grade school

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) -Parents are expressing concern after a round of independent testing found high levels of radioactive waste inside Jana Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District. Mohanned Badra has a son who is studying in school.

“I’m really worried and I don’t want to send my son back to school,” Badra said.

Ashley Bernau, president of the Jana Parent-Teacher Association, released the test results. The report was prepared by Boston Chemical Data Corp. As a result, radioactive waste has been found in the soil in classrooms, the cafeteria, the library, and the HVAC system. And radioactive waste was also found outside on the playground and ball fields.

The report states that in some places the radiation level of this material is 22 times higher than the natural radiation level, which is the background level emitted from the soil. However, a radiation testing consulting firm that spoke to News 4 on the background and asked not to be named said the report used an average background level, not the background level found in the Missouri soil from which is higher. average level.

Karen Nickell is the co-founder of Just Moms STL, a group that has been fighting to clean up nuclear waste for a decade.

“Kids don’t belong on playgrounds or in buildings where there is radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project,” he said.

Decades ago, uranium used for nuclear weapons was processed in St. Louis. Radioactive waste was dumped in piles near Lambert St. Louis International Airport, where rain and wind carried it near Coldwater Creek. The water from the ditch is believed to have deposited radioactive waste on school grounds and riverside neighborhoods over the years.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a division of the CDC, concluded in 2018 that radioactive contamination in and around Coldwater Creek may increase the risk of certain types of cancer for people who play or live there. .

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