Atomic Fallout
Jack Danforth blames Josh Hawley for Missourians losing out on radiation compensation
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s failure as a legislator is most glaringly obvious in the demise of a bill providing coverage to Missourians exposed to radiation from nuclear weapons development, former U.S Sen. Jack Danforth said Thursday. Danforth gave his grade on Hawley’s legislative career during a Thursday tour of the state with Joplin businessman Jared […]
New Missouri House committee will investigate impact of St. Louis nuclear waste
Missouri lawmakers will convene a special committee to study the consequences of nuclear weapons production in the St. Louis area and recommend legislation for next year, House Speaker Dean Plocher announced Thursday. In a press release, Plocher said the Special Interim Committee on the Impact of U.S. Nuclear Weapon Programs on Missouri will allow “policymakers, […]
Cancer victims implore U.S. House to take up compensation for radiation exposure
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is holding up compensation for generations of Americans who developed cancer after exposure to the nation’s nuclear weapons program, several members of Congress said Tuesday. At a news conference in Washington, D.C, U.S. House members and Senators stood beside advocates from Missouri and tribal nations in the southwest who have […]
Signs warning of radioactive waste to be installed along Missouri’s Coldwater Creek this fall
Federal officials plan to post warning signs along a contaminated suburban St. Louis creek where generations of children were exposed to radioactive material. Coldwater Creek, which winds between homes and parks in St. Louis County for 14 miles before meeting the Missouri River, is plagued with nuclear waste left over from World War II. For […]
Missouri AG criticized by political rivals over alleged lack of action on radioactive waste
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey insists his office is working to hold the federal government accountable for the decades-old radioactive waste contamination that plagues the St. Louis area. “We are fighting to ensure that the federal government protects Missourians from the poison that the federal government injected into the streams and creeks there in eastern […]
Radium in groundwater near West Lake Landfill in St. Louis County forces more testing
Crews working to clean up the West Lake Landfill in St. Louis County detected contamination in nearby groundwater, forcing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate whether radium might have left the site. In a periodic update to nearby communities last month, the EPA said it would add groundwater monitoring wells around the site, which […]
Time’s run out for the Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act
A federal program to apologize and acknowledge the harms of radiation exposure is out of time, and for those looking for justice from the federal government, the window for inclusion is getting smaller. The Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act begins to expire Friday, with the U.S. Department of Justice accepting applications postmarked June 10. The […]
U.S. House speaker reverses on radiation compensation bill that excluded Missouri
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office on Wednesday scrapped a proposal to extend a compensation program for victims of radiation exposure without expanding it to thousands of Americans across nine states. In a statement that came less than four hours after Johnson’s office said a proposal to expand the program was too expensive, a spokesperson […]
Missouri residents affected by radiation exposure push Congress to extend benefits
WASHINGTON — A fund to compensate Americans sickened by exposure to atomic bomb tests, uranium mining and radioactive waste expires in just under 15 days, and activists and lawmakers are scrambling to keep the fund active and open to additional victims. A bill to reauthorize and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, often shortened to […]
U.S. House may consider extending nuclear weapons damages program without Missouri
A proposal to renew compensation for cancer victims who were exposed to radioactive material from the nation’s weapons development without expanding the program to Missouri and several other states amounted to a betrayal, Missouri advocates and lawmakers said Tuesday. Members of Congress from Missouri learned late Tuesday that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to […]
Missouri advocates push for compensation for radioactive waste victims as deadline looms
Over the course of half a dozen trips to Washington, D.C., Dawn Chapman has become accustomed to long days of congressional meetings and questions about St. Louis’ decades-long struggle with radioactive contamination. Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL, wraps her feet with duct tape to keep her shoes from giving her blisters, and she and […]
Missouri Senate advances KC weapons facility tax break without aid for nuclear waste victims
An effort to create a program for St. Louis-area residents affected by radioactive waste nearly derailed a Missouri Senate bill backed by the Kansas City delegation to help expand a facility manufacturing components of nuclear weapons. But after defeating the proposed amendment pertaining to St. Louis on Tuesday, senators approved the bill on a first-round […]