A private company will test schools and homes near the former uranium enrichment plant in Piketon for radiological contaminants after trace amounts of enriched uranium were found at a middle school over the summer.
Pike County has hired North Canton-based Solutient Technologies to test Scioto Valley Local School buildings, public and private properties and state waters within a six-mile radius from the plant. Zahn's Corner Middle School students were relocated to other schools after the trace amounts of contaminants were found. U.S. Department of Energy tests found levels of radioactivity that aren't above naturally occurring levels, but it agreed to fund the independent, third-party testing.
