最新杏吧原创

The other is that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in an often thankless effort to remediate lingering radioactive waste, resists sharing detailed information with the public about what it鈥檚 finding in north 最新杏吧原创 County.

That tension, mixed with a mountain of litigation in the court system, led to the flare-up that shut down Jana last month. Observers expect something similar will likely happen again, along another stretch of the 19-mile creek, or by the landfills in Bridgeton, because of lingering uncertainties from a toxic mess that dates to the World War II-era.

Mallinckrodt Chemical Co. secretly refined uranium ore just north of downtown 最新杏吧原创 in the 1940s and 鈥�50s for the development of the nation鈥檚 first atomic weapons. Tons of byproduct were trucked to the northern edge of Lambert Field for storage, at a site near Coldwater Creek, and later, by different companies, to nearby Latty Avenue.

While the primary sources of contamination by the airport and around Latty have mainly been remediated, there is an ongoing effort to find and cleanup other areas where the material spread, both from mishandling and Mother Nature. Competing interests about how best to do that leaves many informed people unsure of their safety.

鈥淭here is obviously bias on all sides,鈥� Bernaugh said.

Bernaugh said she sought answers from the Corps long before a private testing firm raised health concerns about Jana. She said she first noticed trucks driving through the school parking lot to the nearby creek in 2018.

She said the Corps initially dismissed her inquiries, then told her it would cost her and the PTA more than $800 to process a formal records request for sampling data. Christen Commuso, of the , eventually got involved.

鈥淚 found that absurd,鈥� Commuso said of the fees. 鈥淗ere鈥檚 a parent that wanted to find out if there was radioactive bomb waste in her school.鈥�

Commuso obtained information about Jana from the Corps鈥� , or FUSRAP, which is tasked to sample and remediate Coldwater Creek within its 10-year flood plain, stretching from the airport to the confluence with the Missouri River. The information included maps of the Jana test areas, soil sample results and letters from early 2022 to the Hazelwood School District.

The letters said 鈥渓ow-level radioactive residues鈥� were found at 405 Jana Drive, in the banks of the creek, on the edge of the school property boundary, that were the 鈥渞esult of activities associated鈥� with the Manhattan Project and Atomic Energy Commission. The area was considered safe, they assured, but with notable caveats.

鈥淭he contamination does not pose an immediate risk to human health or the environment in its current configuration below ground surface,鈥� one letter said. Though there鈥檚 no signage, the Corps said it 鈥渄iscourages owners from digging in affected areas.鈥�

Another letter said preliminary results from 405 Jana Drive and three adjacent addresses by the school had no contamination present 鈥渋n accordance鈥� with federal levels officially established in 2005 to guide 鈥� and help budget 鈥� the remediation of Coldwater Creek. To the alarm of some parents, residents and property owners, the Corps is allowed to leave behind some radioactive material, above what is found naturally in the environment, more so below the surface.

What鈥檚 more, none of the test details were being discussed with the public at that time. The Corps told the school district in the correspondence that 鈥渋n order to protect your privacy,鈥� the Corps 鈥渨ill not announce publicly the property owner names and addresses of the properties where contamination was found.鈥�

Bernaugh was alarmed by what she read in the letters. This wasn鈥檛 one house or small business. Jana was a public school, supported by taxpayers in the surrounding community. And though there was no apparent 鈥渋mmediate鈥� risk from exposure, she was concerned about long term.

鈥淲e think that the Army Corps of Engineers should have been talking about this to everyone,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verybody needs to know about this.鈥�

In July, unsatisfied with the apparent lack of action by the school district and Corps, Bernaugh and the rest of PTA leadership alerted parents of the situation, writing in a letter: 鈥淭here is well documented evidence of elevated amounts of radioactive waste including Thorium, Radium, and Uranium, found on school property nearest to Coldwater Creek and its flood zone.鈥�

They added that 鈥渄irect communication is key to providing a safe learning environment regarding this matter.鈥�

In response, parents of course were concerned about the impacts on Jana and their children. In August, right before the beginning of the school year, the district gave parents the option to send their children to Jana in person or learn virtually, pending the results of more testing.

Making a case

By then, lawyers from a stalled lawsuit alleging property damage from the mishandling of Manhattan Project waste were paying attention to the brewing situation at Jana. On Aug. 1, they filed an emergency motion in federal court, arguing that a stay in their case should be lifted to do more discovery.

鈥淣ew facts have come to light,鈥� they argued, noting the records obtained by the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.

They argued that it was a 鈥済iant red flag鈥� that the Corps hadn鈥檛 tested inside and immediately around Jana when they had found hot spots so close by, at the edge of the creek.

The stay was lifted. Lawyers subpoenaed Hazelwood School District to allow Boston Chemical Data Corp. and affiliates access to Jana to take their own independent samples. Their subsequent report alarmed parents and elected officials alike, which led to the school being closed and the Corps being told to do much more testing.

The Corps, at sometimes raucous public meetings, continues to say the school is safe. SCI Engineering, a St. Charles firm hired by Hazelwood School District, on Tuesday told the school board it had reached essentially the same conclusion.

The Corps isn鈥檛 commenting on either the Boston Chemical or SCI findings, but at a town hall meeting Thursday night in Florissant, Col. Kevin Golinghorst, 最新杏吧原创 District commander, reiterated the Corps鈥� view that Jana is safe 鈥渇rom a radiological standpoint.鈥� Asked by reporters if he鈥檇 send his children to Jana, Golinghorst responded, 鈥淵es. Yes, I would.鈥�

Asked what impact these developments have on the litigation, Kevin Thompson, one of the plaintiffs鈥� attorneys in the property damage case, said after a previous public meeting: 鈥淲e are happy for any data. I am happy they are testing.鈥�

He and other attorneys on the case are seeking class-action status for property owners in the 100-year flood plain of Coldwater Creek, bounded by St. Charles Rock Road to the southwest and Old Halls Ferry Road to the northeast, which includes Jana and its many alumni.

Plaintiffs in the case are suing companies that 鈥渆ngaged in creation, storage, processing and transportation鈥� of radioactive material in question that was 鈥渘egligently dumped in areas surrounded by peaceful neighborhoods and playgrounds.鈥� They are seeking damages, medical monitoring and cleanup.

鈥淒espite the fact that these materials were some of the most harmful on Earth, Defendants negligently moved them around 最新杏吧原创, treating the radioactive materials with less care than a reasonable person might give in moving common household garbage,鈥� the lawsuit alleges.

The Boston Chemical report, paid for by plaintiffs鈥� lawyers, potentially could advance their claim because the findings suggest there is radioactive contamination beyond the scope of the current cleanup effort. Though an arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that testing be done throughout North County, the Corps is largely sticking to the confines of the 10-year flood plain. Corps officials say they will follow elevated test results beyond that area, into the neighborhoods, so long as test results lead them there from the creek.

That didn鈥檛 initially happen at Jana.

The lawyers in the property damage case say they have paid for testing at many other areas beyond the school.

鈥淲e have done a significant amount of testing,鈥� said Ryan Keane, one of the attorneys.

Marco Kaltofen, who wrote the Boston Chemical report and is part of the lawsuit effort, said they鈥檝e taken more than 1,000 samples near Coldwater Creek and the West Lake landfill complex in Bridgeton, home to some of the contamination in question. He said about 10% were 鈥渋mpact samples,鈥� registering well above background levels. He said one home in the 400 block of Moule Drive, not far from Jana, had a dust particle that was 70% thorium.

鈥淚t鈥檚 microscopic,鈥� Kaltofen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a problem.鈥�

As is, there is a combination of seven households and businesses named in the lawsuit that claim testing found contamination on their properties. Attorneys said hundreds more potential plaintiffs have been contacted in earnest. Tamia Banks, of the 4500 block of Ashby Road, is the lead plaintiff in the case.

Asked what she wants out of litigation, she said in an interview: a 鈥渃rispy clean鈥� cleanup and 鈥渦nderstanding.鈥�

Complicating matters, Banks lives south of the airport, in St. Ann, which is beyond the scope of the Corps remediation effort.

Attorneys are also seeking class-action status for another lawsuit involving property owners near the landfill complex in Bridgeton. There is an ongoing effort by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to locate radioactive material dumped there and eventually clean it up to a designated level.

Hundreds of cancer cases

While the property damage lawsuits seek costly cleanups and medical monitoring, litigation typically settles out of court, without acceptance of responsibility.

Numerous personal injury and wrongful death claims have been filed against Mallinckrodt, Cotter Corp. and other defendant companies, but the outcomes have been kept out of public view because the cases didn鈥檛 go to trial.

In the largest batch, Scott McClurg was the lead plaintiff in a 2012 case that eventually consolidated to include more than 500 people claiming they were physically harmed by the mishandling of radioactive materials in North County. Many of them received out-of-court settlements in 2018 and 2019, including at least 38 wrongful death claims, according to interviews and court records.

鈥淚t didn鈥檛 really answer any questions,鈥� McClurg, 50, said of the case in a recent interview.

He was among what seemed like a lot of people in his age group at McCluer North High School who ended up getting cancer. McClurg, and others who grew up in the area, used to play in the areas around Coldwater Creek. While the state health department recognizes a higher prevalence of some cancers in North County, it鈥檚 difficult, expensive and time-consuming trying to prove direct causation.

As an adult, McClurg said, he鈥檚 had three surgeries for brain tumors. He has a Ph.D., but now struggles to verbalize full sentences.

鈥淲e got some money, but we still got screwed,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hy did normal people have to deal with this in the first place?鈥�

McClurg said he was awarded $20,000 in the settlement.

鈥淚 am mad, but I am not too mad,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 am pretty lucky that I am still alive for almost 15 years. I want to pay attention to things that matter more at this point.鈥�

Gail Moore, 67, a breast cancer survivor, also said she received $20,000 in her part of the case. She grew up in Hazelwood, down the street from Latty Avenue, in the 6900 block of Berkridge Court.

鈥淚 imagine the attorneys made out really well, but the people, because there were so many, didn鈥檛 fare very well,鈥� she said.

She said they never should have built residential areas near the contamination.

鈥淲e were outside all the time. All those people. All those years,鈥� said Moore, who lives in Washington, Missouri. 鈥淣obody really knew anything about it. They kept it hush-hush.鈥�

After living in southern Illinois, McClurg recently moved back to his childhood community in Florissant. He is concerned by the apparent lack of awareness from some of the residents.

鈥淭he whole area needs to be cleaned so people who don鈥檛 have problems, don鈥檛 have problems,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he government has never said this is what we are going to do about this.鈥�

Clean, transparent

Instead, it鈥檚 being handled piecemeal, by different local, state and federal agencies.

As the recent situation at Jana Elementary points out, there are different points of view about what is 鈥渟afe鈥� and what should and can be cleaned up.

In 2021, the Army Corps of Engineers FUSRAP budget for the remediation of Coldwater Creek and related properties was $34.55 million, up from $20 million in 2019. The project is supposed to be completed by 2038.

Regulatory goals were established in 2005 by the so-called , an extensive document that guides the cleanup.

鈥淟ook what they are leaving behind,鈥� said Dawn Chapman, co-founder of the advocacy group . 鈥淚t鈥檚 either there, or it鈥檚 not, that鈥檚 what parents want to know.鈥�

Bernaugh, of the PTA, added: 鈥淭his is not an industrial zone. We are trying to live here.鈥�

She said there is more of a sense of urgency from people committed to North County, and that transparency is a key part of making progress.

鈥淚 am all about not being hysterical and following data and science,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 ever prioritize property over lives.鈥�

She said everybody has a role to play in solving a problem that鈥檚 much bigger than Jana.

鈥淲e all have to take our bite of elephant and chew,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f we continue to exclude the residents, then who are we cleaning this up for?鈥�