This week Gov. Mike DeWine said he supports a proposal by U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry for an accelerated testing schedule at the middle school in Pike County where enriched uranium was detected on May 13.

Pike County health officials say the Department of Energy told the county that they would be at the school early Friday morning collecting those samples, but that scheduled testing was postponed after county and school officials say the DOE would not allow them to accompany or video record the collecting process.

Matt Brewster, Pike County Health Commissioner says an initial walk-through at Zahn’s Corner Middle School took place with the Department of Energy Friday morning, but logistics on how the sampling will be done is still being worked out.

Last Monday, the Scioto Valley Local School District announced the closure of the middle school for the remaining school year after enriched uranium was detected inside the school and neptunium was detected in a U.S. Department of Energy air monitor located across the street from the school.

The school sits just a couple of miles away from the former U.S. atomic energy plant, where enriched uranium was produced for the government’s nuclear weapons program.

Brewster says the health department and school district are requesting that data quality objectives — examples of what the DOE is looking for — a sample and analysis plan, along with a quality assurance and quality control breakdown before any sampling is taken place.

As well as requesting that samples will need to be slip on school grounds for the DOE and county’s testing purposes.

According to county and school officials, the DOE was not prepared to follow through with the health departments request today.

The school district has made the decision to move all middle-schoolers to the elementary and high school next year.

Health officials from the state were at the school Friday evening to observe the collecting of the samples but left after getting no response from the department of energy.