Target: Scott A. Spellmon, Chief and Commanding General of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Goal: Keep public buildings and communities free of hazardous nuclear contamination.
Families of students at a Missouri elementary school got quite a shock when they discovered—some of them via social media—that their children may have experienced prolonged exposure to hazardous radioactive debris. Toxic residue was reportedly found at dangerously high levels on the playground and even in the classrooms of Jana Elementary School. The contamination is likely traceable to a nearby creek where waste from nuclear weapons research is believed to have been disposed around the time of World War II.
The most disturbing part of these findings is the seeming carelessness and irresponsibility of those groups in charge of this area. The Army Corps of Engineers has apparently known of the creek’s contamination for many years and has undertaken massive cleanup efforts. Despite the obvious concerns, the community was allegedly repeatedly assured that the contamination posed no threat to the school or the surrounding community. All the while, kids as young as five or six attended this school on a daily basis for decades.
Previously, health officials had reportedly warned of high risks of certain cancers for students who attended the school. Even after the findings were released (due to an investigation prompted primarily by parents), the Army Corps of Engineers seemingly attempted to downplay and dismiss the troubling results. It has taken a similar approach to questions raised about the ability of aging nuclear power facilities to withstand major natural disasters.
As it stands now, some of the biggest nuclear-related threats are not from overseas but from within the country. Sign the petition below to demand the core leader of civil and public works take this ongoing danger more seriously,
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Lieutenant-General Spellmon,
Thousands of children, the majority of them from minority communities, have passed through the halls of Jana Elementary School. The worries that a place meant to protect them and help guide their futures may have done irreparable harm to them is apparently not an irrational fear. It is a harsh reality reportedly confirmed by an extensive investigation.
Please stop using this situation to cast doubt and aspersions. Instead, take the concerns seriously and learn from them. Use the closure of this school to make needed changes and to be completely transparent about dangers to this community and to other regions that may have similar experiences across the country. And please make the evaluation of nuclear power facilities in disaster-prone areas like earthquake or hurricane hotspots a top priority.
The world has born witness to the horrors of radioactive contamination and its crushing, decades-long scars. Help ensure that these scars are not self-inflicted.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Hazelwood Schools
It is beyond understanding that this issue is not just in this one school but many others and all are not schools. The Army Corps of Engineers has apparently known of the creek’s contamination for many years and has undertaken massive cleanup efforts. To no avail? The Army Corps of Engineers seemingly attempted to downplay and dismiss the troubling results. It has taken a similar approach to questions raised about the ability of aging nuclear power facilities to withstand major natural disasters. I think being paid to do a job is reason enough to do the job. Yet this responsibility has apparently been continually ignored. Here’s an idea … CORRECT THIS!!!!!