FLORISSANT, Mo. – Big questions remain after reports of possible radioactive contamination at Jana Elementary School.
On Tuesday night, the board heard from the private company that reported high levels of contamination just weeks ago.
This meeting comes a week after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers considered the school safe from radioactive contamination.
The news came just weeks after a Boston Chemical Data Corp. report showed elevated levels of contamination at Jana Elementary.
A Boston Chemical Data representative provided some numbers and context for their testing process. A representative from the environmental protection agency was also present.
They said they found lead 210, a radioactive isotope, and dangerous thorium particles in Coldwater Creek. They said they also found lead 210 on school grounds.
Their findings differ from those of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who deemed the school safe.
The Boston Chemical Data report found radioactive contamination at the school at much higher levels than expected. In one case, 22 times above normal levels.
Dr. Marco Keltofen, who performed the sampling and wrote the Boston Chemical Data report, said they found more than 400 potentially active microparticles.
“Unfortunately, five of the seven worst or highest results that we got for radioactivity from these microparticles, came from either the Jana School itself or from the neighborhood around the Jana School, ” he said.
Keltofen added that his group tested for many more radioactive isotopes than the corps did, and that was where the elevated radioactive contamination was discovered. The Corps of Engineers told school district leaders that testing found no radioactive contamination beyond what occurs naturally in the environment.