During his first appearance in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) pushed the Department of Energy's Deputy Secretary David Turk for answers about radioactive waste found near Jana Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District of Florissant, Mo.
"With all due respect, I'm not particularly interested in conversations, I'm interested in getting a result here," Senator Hawley said. "These parents have been waiting for years [...] to get some clean up done. I don't think it's too much to ask, that this school district, beginning with Jana Elementary, but the entire school district, get proper clean-up done and these kids be able to go to school in a place that doesn't have radioactive waste within 600 feet of their school, or maybe in the building itself."
Last month, Senator Hawley sent a letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Lieutenant General Scott Spellmon calling for additional radioactive testing of Hazelwood School District's properties.
Last October, Senator Hawley demanded that USACE conduct radioactive testing at Jana Elementary School following reports of contamination, and called on President Biden to declare a federal emergency and make aid available for students and families.