Updated at 5:20p.m. Mar. 7 with comments from Rep. Cori Bush
The U.S. Senate passed a bill Thursday that would provide compensation for sick St. Louisans who live near radioactive contamination from the Manhattan Project.
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act provides funding for Americans who have experienced certain health effects after presumed exposure to radiation from the World War II-era development of nuclear weapons. It is set to expire in June if Congress does not extend funding.
The program does not currently cover St. Louis, but the bill to reauthorize the funding would expand it to include some ZIP codes in the parts of St. Louis County and St. Charles County that have waste from Mallinckrodt Chemical Co.’s processing of uranium for the first nuclear bomb. The Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley, passed 69-30.
Before the vote Thursday, Hawley, R-Mo., spoke on the floor of the Senate to advocate for the bill.
“This isn’t about a handout,” Hawley said. "This isn’t about some kind of welfare program. This is about doing basic justice by the working people of this nation whom their own government has poisoned.”
Hawley is also calling attention to the issue at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech Thursday. His guest is Dawn Chapman, the co-founder of Just Moms STL, which advocates for people living near radioactive contamination from the Manhattan Project in St. Louis. Other St. Louis-area advocates were also in Washington, D.C., this week to push for the legislation.
The Army Corps of Engineers is drilling beneath homes this week to test for potential contamination on Cades Cove Drive in Florissant along Coldwater Creek. The Corps said contamination from an old creek meander was buried when the subdivision was built, so the Corps is now testing below homes for contaminated soils.
This work in north St. Louis County shows how the issue continues to affect St. Louisans, Chapman said earlier this week in a call with reporters.
“This is not a 50-year-old problem,” Chapman said. “This is a two-day problem too. And these people are heartbroken. They don't know what to do. And they're scared.”
The Corps plans to hold a community meeting soon to address residents' concerns.
“We are deeply invested in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the residents," said Phil Moser, St. Louis District program manager for FUSRAP, in a written statement. "Every step we take is grounded in rigorous research, precise data, and evidence-based remediation decisions."
A previous extension and expansion of the Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act passed the Senate as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. That amendment was removed from the final version of the bill before its passage in December. Since then, Hawley said he would look for any other path forward for the fund.
Earlier this week, Hawley said he has spoken with colleagues in the House about getting the bill through that chamber, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and both leadership and rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans.
Congresswoman Cori Bush, D-St. Louis County, called the Senate vote a crucial step Thursday.
“I look forward to championing this legislation as it advances to the House, and I remain committed to ensuring our government does everything in its power to rectify their wrongdoings,” Bush said in a statement.
