A team of certified health physicists from the Energy Department spent the Memorial Day weekend in Piketon, Ohio, collecting air samples that will be analyzed for signs of radioactive contamination at a local middle school.
Forty-four air samples were collected both inside and outside of Zahn’s Corner Middle School, about 2 miles from DOE’s Portsmouth nuclear cleanup site, an Energy Department spokesperson said Tuesday. “It is our hope that this thorough analysis and transparent process will give the community more clarity than the Northern Arizona University report that prompted the closure of the school, which was based on just six samples.”
The technical team, sent by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, was observed by representatives of Pike County and the Ohio Department of Health. The sampling covered specific areas requested for testing by community leaders, DOE said.
The Energy Department will analyze the samples in its national laboratories. It has also provided samples to local and state officials for additional analysis “in laboratories of their choosing,” DOE said. The agency will still pay for a third-party assessment of the school by a vendor chosen by the Piketon community.
Meanwhile, the Huntington, W.Va., News reported Tuesday a class-action lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Ohio alleging that current and former DOE contractors failed to prevent radioactivity from Portsmouth from migrating into local homes and buildings. Area plaintiffs seek remediation of contaminants around their homes, medical monitoring, and a special fund for medical bills.
Pike County Health Commissioner Matt Brewster said his office only learned of the additional DOE sampling on Thursday and on Friday still lacked detail on how it would be done. He could not immediately be reached by deadline.
Zahn’s Corner Middle School closed early for summer vacation May 13 after Northern Arizona University researchers said samples taken by local residents indicated the presence of neptunium-237 and other contaminants beyond background levels. During the 2019-2020 academic year, students from the middle school will be divided between a local elementary school and a combination junior high-senior high school campus.
