By Chris Taylor
Paducah, KY – Contractors for the U.S. Department of Energy say preliminary soil tests at Heath Elementary show no contamination. More than 30 inspectors collected samples at the school over the weekend. The search is the DOE's response after receiving a tip that a contractor working at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in 1980 had dumped several truck loads of dirt from the plant on school grounds. The plant processes low level radiation uranium, hazardous PCBs used in oil and electrical equipment and toxic heavy metals nickel and chromium. The Paducah Sun reports McCracken County Superintendent Tim Heller had a plan in place to clean the site if tests revealed contamination.