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Representation. A playground. Pixabay

"Unacceptable" levels of radioactive waste were found in the kindergarten playground soil, gym, kitchen, and other areas of a suburban St. Louis elementary school, according to a Boston Chemical Data Corp. report.

The report found levels of radioactive isotope lead-210, polonium, radium, and other dangerous chemicals at Jana Elementary School in Florissant in the Hazelwood School District.

Soil, dust and plant samples were studied in the report by Boston Chemical Data Corp.

The school sits on the flood plain of Coldwater Creek, which was used to illegally dump radioactive waste during World War II. The Army Corps of Engineers has worked to clean the contaminated waterway for more than 20 years.

The study was conducted after the Army Corps of Engineers found high levels of radioactive materials near the school but did not test the school property. The Boston Chemical report found the Army Corps first detected high levels of radioactivity near the school in 2018 and then again in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The Army did not take samples within 300 feet of the school. The superintendent of Hazelwood School District was first informed of the Army findings in January 2022.

The Hazelwood School District said in a statement that it's aware of the report and is considering next steps.

Boston Chemical inspectors took 32 dust and soil samples from inside the school and the surrounding property in August. They found levels of lead 210 "more than 22 times the expected background" in soil in the kindergarten playground and 12 times the expected background on the school's basketball courts.

"We cannot continue to allow our children to be collateral damage of World War II," the Missouri Coalition for the Environment said in a statement.

A public health assessment conducted in 2019 by the Department of Health and Human Services found people who have spent time in the water or who live close to Coldwater Creek could have an increased risk of some cancers.