Conclusions drawn by Northern Arizona University (NAU) researchers and the Department of Energy provide opposing views of whether a middle school near the Portsmouth Site in Ohio is safe for students to attend this fall.
Local officials, citing analysis by NAU, said Thursday dust samples taken over Memorial Day weekend at Zahn’s Corner Middle School back up earlier findings that indicate enriched uranium is present within indoor dust.
Health physicists from DOE’s national laboratories and the National Nuclear Security Administration, accompanied by state and local officials, collected 44 surface samples over that weekend. Air samples also were taken inside and outside the school.
In June, the university analyzed eight of the 44 “swipe” samples taken by the federal team.
Pike County officials cite the university findings as evidence of a potential threat to student health. The Energy Department says there is no radioactivity detected above naturally occurring levels.
The NAU analysis of the samples also suggests the former DOE gaseous diffusion plant is the likely source of the contamination, Pike County General Health District Commissioner Matt Brewster said in a press release. While he did not provide details, prior NAU research has linked contamination to construction of an on-site disposal cell for waste from cleanup at Portsmouth.
Zahn’s Corner Middle School is located about 2 miles from the Portsmouth nuclear cleanup site. During the 2019-2020 academic year, Zahn’s students will be housed in other local schools.
On May 13, the school closed early for summer vacation after Northern Arizona University researchers said their analysis of sediment and dust samples taken by local residents indicated the presence of neptunium-237 and other contaminants in or around the building beyond background levels.
The university’s researchers analyzed samples for the county on a pro bono basis.
The Energy Department says sampling done prior to NAU’s involvement found radioactive dose rates far below the point of being a health and safety concern.
The federal agency said Friday the results of sampling from the Memorial Day weekend reinforce its position that the school is safe. The analyses conducted at the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina show no radioactivity detected above naturally occurring levels, and thus no cause for public health concern, DOE said.
“There is no public health or safety risk from radioactive material preventing Zahn’s Corner Middle School from opening this fall,” DOE spokeswoman Kelly Love said by email.
The Energy Department conducted its investigation in a thorough and transparent manner, using experts who perform radiological investigations around the world, Love said.
Representatives from the county health district, and the Scioto Valley Local School District, met Wednesday with officials from the Energy Department and the Ohio Department of Health to discuss the sampling, Brewster said in the release.
The furor caused by apparent radiological contamination at the school is said to have played a role in the May resignation of DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White. The Office of Environmental Management oversees cleanup of Portsmouth and other defense nuclear sites around the nation.
The controversy prompted two lawsuits to be filed in federal court, accusing current and former Energy Department contractors at Portsmouth of failing to prevent radioactive contaminants from going beyond the fence and endangering public health.
The Energy Department has agreed to pay for a third-party consultant picked by Pike County to conduct independent sampling and analysis. The conflicting findings by NAU and the federal government illustrate the importance of the independent sampling that will be done by Solutient Technologies, Brewster said in the release.
Once the firm’s results are in, “the community will have a study and results that they can trust and we all can use to make the best decisions for the health and safety of our community,” Brewster said. He did not specify the timeline for the work.
This article was updated July 29 to more accurately reflect DOE’s findings from the Memorial Day weekend sampling at the middle school.
