EXAMS AT SEMO REVEAL NO RADIATION

No health problems have been detected as a result of a radioactive contamination spill at Southeast Missouri State University's Magill Hall, school officials said Friday.

Forty-seven people underwent a lung test earlier this summer to determine if they had absorbed radioactive americium-241.

Art Wallhausen, assistant to the university president, said all the test results came back negative. The testing was done by Helgeson Scientific Services.

Wallhausen said the individual test results were mailed Thursday to those tested. Some received the letter Friday.

An official with Science Applications International Corp. said plans are being made to do further testing. SAIC has been hired to do the cleanup work and deal with any health issues regarding the contamination.

The university has already incurred $311,000 in expenses to address the contamination problem. The testing by Helgeson cost $36,000. SAIC's bill already has reached $275,000, which doesn't include the cost of cleaning up the contamination in the building.

Wallhausen said the cost of cleanup hasn't been calculated, but it is expected to be expensive.

Jim Moos, project manager for SAIC, said a urinalysis likely will be conducted on 20 to 25 people, including a few who previously had their lungs scanned.

Some 180 people, who have expressed concern that they may have been exposed to the radioactive material, have filled out questionnaires. Some of them are expected to be among those who will undergo the urinalysis.

Moos said the lung test can detect radioactivity dating back about three years. A urinalysis would detect more long-term exposure, he said.

Meanwhile, plans are being made to decontaminate the basement of Magill Hall and an upstairs room where americium contamination has been discovered. Moos said a decontamination plan will be submitted next week to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The commission must approve the plan before work can commence.

Moos said he hopes the commission will approve the plan by the end of next week.

Once the plan is approved, SAIC plans to first tackle the contamination in Room 242 followed by cleanup work in the basement.

Moos said the goal is to complete all the cleanup work by the end of September. Those involved in the cleanup will use special containers and wear protective clothing, he said.

Dr. Chris McGowan, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, said there are no plans to cancel classes at Magill Hall while the cleanup work is being done.

McGowan was one of the 47 who underwent the lung scan. He said he wasn't surprised by the test results.

Faculty have taken the contamination spill in stride. "The faculty are not concerned," McGowan said. But he said some facilities management employees at the university have expressed concern about possible health risks.

McGowan said the university has put on hold experiments that would be funded with a $250,000 National Science Foundation grant. The experiments require some mechanical room changes to dehumidify a room that will house a sensitive instrument. The mechanical room is in the basement. McGowan said the university didn't want to make mechanical changes in the building until the contamination problem has been addressed.

The americium spill was disclosed in June. The university administration first learned of the contamination problem in February and sealed off a storage room that contained a spilled vial. But it wasn't until June that university officials found out that the contamination was more widespread.