Mallinckrodt Chemical Company

A circa 1960 photo taken by the Mallinckrodt-St. Louis Sites Task Force Working Group shows deteriorating steel drums containing radioactive residues near Coldwater Creek in north St. Louis County.

‘We got mad’: Years of pain after a childhood near radioactive Coldwater Creek

Allison Kite

Expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act could have helped with care for people suffering after living near contaminated waterways and sites across Missouri.

Two teenagers stepping on rocks and wooden planks on Coldwater Creek.

Government, Politics & Issues

U.S. Senate OKs Hawley proposal to expand coverage for atomic bomb-related illness to St. Louis

Allison Kite

Private companies and the federal government for decades failed to take actions to protect St. Louis residents from nuclear waste, an investigation by The Independent, MuckRock and The Associated Press found.

A cyclist peddles past a stone-covered landfill on Thursday, July 13, 2023 at the Dept. of Energy’s Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center in St. Charles County. The landfill was the backdrop for a press conference conducted by politicians and local activists, regarding new reporting on ongoing radioactive contamination in the St. Louis area. During the press conference, those speaking said that they held it at the landfill intentionally, as it had previously been a site of radioactive contamination.

Government, Politics & Issues

Missouri warned feds in 2021: Contamination of St. Charles County groundwater isn't improving

Allison Kite

The Department of Energy says it will evaluate alternative ideas to decontaminate the radioactive site and groundwater.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, left, speaks to the press alongside, from left, Just Moms STL founders Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel and Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft on Thursday, July 13, 2023 at the Dept. of Energy’s Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center in St. Charles County. Wednesday, after new reporting on ongoing radioactive contamination in the St. Louis area, Hawley introduced legislation to create a fund for those impacted by the contamination.

Health, Science & Environment

Missouri leaders want federal government to pay St. Louisans harmed by nuclear contamination

Chad Davis

Nuclear contamination in the St. Louis region dates back to the 1940s. Documents show leaders of Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, which processed uranium in St. Louis, knew of the contamination risks in 1949.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked with removing the radioactive waste from the downtown St. Louis site, which includes the Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals plant.

Health, Science & Environment

Cleanup Of Manhattan Project Site In Downtown St. Louis Nears Completion

Sarah Fentem

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is close to finishing its removal of World War II-era radioactive waste from the Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals plant in…

The West Lake Landfill, in the distance, sits adjacent to the Bridgeton Landfill.

Health, Science & Environment

West Lake Landfill owner sues Mallinckrodt to help pay for nuclear waste cleanup

Eli Chen

Bridgeton Landfill LLC, owner of the West Lake Landfill, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt to help pay for the cost of…

The West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, seen from St. Charles Rock Road.

Health, Science & Environment

Answered: 9 questions about the EPA’s West Lake Landfill decision

Kae M. Petrin

On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency approved plans to clean up radioactive waste at the West Lake Landfill Superfund site.The agency plans to…

North St. Louis County residents Antoinette Ray and Dorlita Adams examine a map of sediment testing near Coldwater Creek at a public meeting in Florissant held by the federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry.

Health, Science & Environment

Residents near Coldwater Creek press officials for answers on health risks

Sarah Fentem

Residents who live near Coldwater Creek on Wednesday used a meeting with federal officials to voice their worries about the longtime health risks of…

Coldwater Creek in north St. Louis County has been linked to increased cancer risk, thanks to radioactive waste that contaminated the creek bed.

Health, Science & Environment

Residents say Coldwater Creek report lacks answers to cancer questions

Sarah Fentem

When a federal agency linked radioactive waste in Coldwater Creek to certain kinds of cancers, residents of north St. Louis County were pleased that the…

St. Cin Park in Hazelwood. The park is staying open during the clean-up, but the Corps is monitoring the air and water for contamination.

Health, Science & Environment

Radioactive waste in Coldwater Creek increases cancer risk, says federal report

Sarah Fentem

A federal government agency has concluded radioactive contamination in a north St. Louis County creek could cause increased risk of certain types of…