FLORISSANT, Mo. — There are growing contamination concerns surrounding Coldwater Creek.
As Jana Elementary prepares to shut down, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing to conduct its own testing on Monday.
Those who grew up in that area are now voicing their frustrations.
"I'm sick, have several auto-immune diseases,” Karen Nickel said.
Nickel heads Just Moms STL, educating people about radioactive waste. She believes she was exposed as a child.
Tuesday, she spoke before the Hazelwood School Board after a third-party group found high levels of radioactivity at Jana Elementary School.
“The creek would flood. It would come up in my neighborhood. It would be out of its banks. It would dry. It would leave particles,” Nickel said.
She grew up along Coldwater Creek.
"I have Lupus, Psoriatic Arthritis and Sjogren’s Disease,” she said.
She believes it’s a result of her childhood. She points to a 2017 public health assessment by the CDC, which took a close look at the creek and the risks of exposure.
"They did find that yes, there are ways that people could have been harmed,” Nickel added.
Already, people are reaching out to Just Moms STL via Facebook with questions.
"I'm seeing some that are reporting ‘yes I went to Jana. I have brain cancer’ or ‘I've had different kind of cancers or autoimmune illnesses’ and types of things," Nickel said.
It comes as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Thursday it will conduct its own testing at Jana come Monday, testing the inside and outside of the school.
"Do I believe that they can come in and clean this up properly? I do. They are the experts to clean this up. I do believe that…We've got a generation of children at Jana School that has bomb waste in their school and on their playground. I don't want those children to end up being sick like me,” Nickel added.
Students at Jana will transition to virtual learning starting Monday, Oct. 24.
On Thursday, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page praised the Hazelwood School District for making that call.
It’s uncertain how long the school will remain closed.
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