Niagara Falls, N.Y. (WBEN) - Officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were at the Catholic Academy of Niagara Falls on Wednesday to conduct further radiological testing on site after prior screenings showed elevated levels of radioactivity. The agency worked as students were not in class in recognition of Veterans Day.
This round of radiological testing is just the latest round of assessments undertaken by the EPA, in partnership with the New York State Department of Conversation (DEC) and the State Department of Health (DOH), in both Niagara and Erie counties.
"This is one of the locations where we received a consent form to come in and do that radiological screening. We performed the screening, and as a result, we found some slightly elevated readings of radioactivity in the parking lot areas of of this property," said Keith Glenn, EPA deputy incident commander for the Niagara and Erie County Radiological Assessment (NECRA) project. "Our activities today are to further investigate those locations, and get a little bit more understanding of what there is below the pavement. There is no immediate concern to the students, the staff, the parishioners that utilize this space. It's just for us to get a little bit more understanding of if there is something here and what it might be."
There are a number of different activities officials were performing Wednesday on the grounds of the Catholic Academy of Niagara Falls.
"We are collecting soil samples in the parking lot, where we saw those slightly elevated readings. In addition to that, we're performing scoping activities around the perimeter of the school, the church, and the rectory itself. That's going to give us an understanding of whether or not people are being exposed to any radiation, and seeing if there's a concern associated with that," Glenn explained. "In addition, we are doing some scoping and sampling inside of the structures as well over the course of the next few days. That sampling also includes radon testing. The radon testing takes several days, canisters are placed throughout different areas, and then the canisters are sent to a laboratory for analytical analysis."
The EPA's goal remains to identify any contamination or any waste that's placed where it shouldn't be located, and then identify who may be at fault for the contamination.
"We need to find that material, we need to analyze it, determine if it warrants a removal activity of the material, and then also identify if there are any corporate parties associated with it," Glenn said.
EPA officials are working in close communication with the administrators of the school and with the parish itself with handling the testing and any potential findings.
"This is a private property, so we are working with them on scheduling and trying to expedite this as much as possible. So we are trying to get a lot of the interior scoping information as soon as possible, so that way we can share it with the appropriate parties, and then they can share it with the parents of the students here," Glenn added.
Glenn further says they're working on getting results for the interior scoping of the property as soon as possible. It's those results they want to utilize for ensuring there's no concerns of exposure to anything for the students.
The Diocese of Buffalo issued the following statement in a letter sent to concerned parents of the school from Principal Johanna Richards:
“We welcome the ongoing testing by the EPA and NY DEC, given that the health and well-being of children and teachers of Catholic Academy of Niagara Falls, their families and the broader community are our highest priority. We were encouraged that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) confirmed that the initial screening does not indicate any health threat. The additional screening will hopefully continue to confirm that the health and safety of the community is not at risk. Naturally, we will cooperate fully with federal and state officials and communicate as thoroughly with the community as this situation requires.”
The schools also says when the results come in, an EPA tabling meeting will be scheduled for all parents and staff to attend.
"Our goal is to identify any contamination or any waste that's placed where it shouldn't be located"
"Our goal is to identify any contamination or any waste that's placed where it shouldn't be located"
