Posted on Aug 1, 2023
Top Missouri House Democrat calls for special session on St. Louis nuclear waste
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One of Missouri’s top Democratic officials asked the governor on Monday to call a special legislative session in response to news reports of the “unacceptable mismanagement” of radioactive waste in the St. Louis area.
“The problems related with this waste have festered for nearly 80 years,” House Minority Leader Crystal Quade said in a letter to Gov. Mike Parson. “It is well past time for us to begin the long process of finally resolving them for the sake of all Missourians.”
Quade, D-Springfield, is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2024. Her comments follow a six-month investigation by The Missouri Independent, MuckRock and The Associated Press into radioactive contamination still lingering from World War II.
Uranium for the first atomic bomb was processed in downtown St. Louis, and radioactive waste was trucked across the region. Contamination from the effort still lingers in Weldon Spring, Coldwater Creek and the West Lake Landfill.
The newsrooms found that, for decades, federal officials and private companies either downplayed or failed to fully investigate the extent of radioactive contamination in St. Louis and St. Charles counties, allowing generations of families to be exposed.
“The problems related with this waste have festered for nearly 80 years,” House Minority Leader Crystal Quade said in a letter to Gov. Mike Parson. “It is well past time for us to begin the long process of finally resolving them for the sake of all Missourians.”
Quade, D-Springfield, is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2024. Her comments follow a six-month investigation by The Missouri Independent, MuckRock and The Associated Press into radioactive contamination still lingering from World War II.
Uranium for the first atomic bomb was processed in downtown St. Louis, and radioactive waste was trucked across the region. Contamination from the effort still lingers in Weldon Spring, Coldwater Creek and the West Lake Landfill.
The newsrooms found that, for decades, federal officials and private companies either downplayed or failed to fully investigate the extent of radioactive contamination in St. Louis and St. Charles counties, allowing generations of families to be exposed.
Top Missouri House Democrat calls for special session on St. Louis nuclear waste
Posted from news.stlpublicradio.org
Nuclear
St. Louis
Hazmat
St. Charles
Posted 10 mo ago
Responses: 1
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..." In a letter dated Monday, Quade asked Parson, a Republican, to call a special legislative session to appropriate money to a state program so the Missouri Department of Natural Resources can investigate areas of radioactive waste under a law passed in 2018.
Over the years, the state department has routinely pushed the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy for more extensive sampling and cleanup of radioactive waste, which Quade applauded.
“However, there is more that can and must be done by the state to protect the health and safety of our citizens,” Quade wrote in the letter.
According to the letter, the state can develop its own sampling and analysis plan, including sampling residents’ homes if they agree.
Parson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Rep. Tricia Byrnes, R-Wentzville, who grew up in the area and, as a teen, swam in a quarry she didn’t know was contaminated in Weldon Spring, has researched the issue extensively. She led efforts this spring to pass a resolution to require the state’s attorney general to seek compensation for residents who have become ill from exposure to radioactive waste.
The resolution passed the House but did not receive a Senate vote.
Byrnes said she and other elected officials and activists from the area need the help of anyone who wants to be involved, regardless of party. But Byrnes and a Missouri Senate Republican leader questioned Quade’s motivations as she campaigns for governor."...
..." In a letter dated Monday, Quade asked Parson, a Republican, to call a special legislative session to appropriate money to a state program so the Missouri Department of Natural Resources can investigate areas of radioactive waste under a law passed in 2018.
Over the years, the state department has routinely pushed the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy for more extensive sampling and cleanup of radioactive waste, which Quade applauded.
“However, there is more that can and must be done by the state to protect the health and safety of our citizens,” Quade wrote in the letter.
According to the letter, the state can develop its own sampling and analysis plan, including sampling residents’ homes if they agree.
Parson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Rep. Tricia Byrnes, R-Wentzville, who grew up in the area and, as a teen, swam in a quarry she didn’t know was contaminated in Weldon Spring, has researched the issue extensively. She led efforts this spring to pass a resolution to require the state’s attorney general to seek compensation for residents who have become ill from exposure to radioactive waste.
The resolution passed the House but did not receive a Senate vote.
Byrnes said she and other elected officials and activists from the area need the help of anyone who wants to be involved, regardless of party. But Byrnes and a Missouri Senate Republican leader questioned Quade’s motivations as she campaigns for governor."...
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
New revelations on radioactive waste in St. Louis
New revelations on radioactive waste in St. Louis For more Local News from KMOV: https://www.kmov.com/ For more YouTube Content: https://www.youtube.com/c...
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