Manhattan Project radioactive waste made people ill. Should the gov’t pay the medical bills?

Should the U.S. government pay for the medical bills of people who were exposed to radioactive waste created during the Manhattan Project? Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a bill to do just that after people living near a creek in his home state became ill and had to move. 

Hawley wants the government to compensate people who lived near Coldwater Creek in St. Louis where waste was stored. Hawley said covered illnesses should include cancer, autoimmune disease or genetic disorders. 

Mallinckrodt Chemical Co. helped process the uranium that was used to make the first atomic bomb near downtown St. Louis. An investigation by The Associated Press, The Missouri Independent and MuckRock found that the materials were transported and stored haphazardly. They even spilled out of the trucks en route to storage. 

In 1949, a federal contractor left radioactive waste in steel drums along Coldwater Creek that leaked into the water. 

In the 1970s, the government paid another contractor to dispose of more waste, but it was illegally dumped into a public landfill. 

In 1976, a government test revealed levels of radiation in Coldwater Creek were extremely dangerous. 

The report found that federal agencies knew of the risks to the area but described it as “low level” or “minimum.”

“This is their government dumping radioactive material into their water, their soil and then lying to them about it. Not even for a year or two years, but for three quarters of a century, Hawley said.  

People who lived near the creek, and even swam in it, have suffered severe illness. During a recent press conference, former Coldwater Creek resident Christen Commuso cried as she described what she went through. 

“In 2012, in an 11-month period, I had a total hysterectomy due to masses on my ovaries. I had an adrenal gland removed due to a tumor. I’ve had thyroid cancer,” Commuso said according to KSDK News. 

Jana Elementary School, which sits right alongside Coldwater Creek, is now closed. A private scientist found that the school was contaminated while the Army Corps of Engineers said it was safe. Hawley and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., sent a letter to Army Corps of Engineers’ Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon calling for additional radioactive testing at all Hazelwood School District properties. 

“These are parents who sent their kids to the school trusting that they’d get a great education. And what did they get instead? Exposure to radioactive contamination,” Hawley said.  

The government is now working on a remediation project at Coldwater Creek that is not scheduled to be finished until 2038.