Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) Wednesday urged President Joe Biden to declare a federal emergency after the Hazelwood, Mo., school board voted to stop using a local elementary school near which radioactive contamination has been found from a Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program cleanup site.
The Hazelwood Board of Education acted Tuesday night to close Jana Elementary School and have its students switch to virtual learning, Hawley said in a Wednesday press release.
Hawley asked Biden to approve immediate federal relief for all families affected by closure of the school building. The senator also sent a letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lieutenant General Scott Spellmon seeking a detailed investigation.
The Corps oversees the cleanup program for formerly used defense sites. The Jana Elementary School property does have formerly utilized defense site contamination near the bank of Coldwater Creek, according to the Corps, which said this contamination is below ground in a wooded area.
But a report by Boston Chemical Data Corp. recently suggested the radioactive contamination is more serious than previously thought.
