Byron DeLear Articles, Interviews, and Writings
concerning the West Lake Landfill (2015-2016)
1. EPA suppression of vital report reveals West Lake radwaste as ‘principal threat’…...... pg. 2
2. EPA takes half measures to save face on radioactive West Lake Landfill……………………. pg. 5
3. Helen Caldicott to conduct nuclear symposium in St. Louis: ‘The Atoms Next Door'….
pg. 9
4. LETTER TO MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL CHRIS KOSTER………………………………………..
pg. 14
5. Major win for West Lake families: transfer from EPA to Army Corps of Engineers…….
pg. 36
6. Part 2: Does existing law already order the ‘recall’ of radwaste at West Lake?............ pg. 40
7. Nuclear Hotseat interview with Byron DeLear……………………………………………………………. pg. 45
8. New study shows vast offsite radioactive contamination from West Lake Landfill……
pg. 55
9. Missouri Senators demand clean-up of West Lake; offer families ‘peace of mind’……… pg. 59
10. Part 1: Does existing law already order the ‘recall’ of radwaste at West Lake?............. pg. 62
11. How a six-figure deal from the 1960s blocked clean-up of radiotoxic site………………….
pg. 66
12. State of Emergency Needed in St. Louis due to Radioactive Contamination………………. pg. 72
13. Missouri AG Koster warns fire might reach radioactive waste in three months………...
pg. 74
14. President Obama needs to take action on radioactive West Lake Landfill…………………
pg. 77
15. New revelations shake-up EPA jurisdiction of St. Louis radioactive site…………………….. pg. 80
16. Radioactive site continues to plague St. Louis residents and region………………………….
pg. 85
1
EPA suppression of vital report reveals
West Lake radwaste as ‘principal threat’
June 16, 2016 2:23 PM MST BYRON DELEAR
Karen Nickel of Just Moms STL. The EPA recently released a report which it had
suppressed for more than three years. The report roundly criticized the agency's
handling of the site and suggests removal of radwaste as a viable option.
Photo: Center for Health, Environment, and Justice
In a shocking revelation concerning the ongoing saga of the radioactive West Lake
Landfill, yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a
report it had suppressed for more than three years. In it, the National Remedy Review
Board (NRRB), a peer-review group that oversees Superfund site clean-up plans,
criticized the agency’s proposed 2008 decision to place a cap on top of the site and
states in no uncertain terms that based on the data there is “accessible, highly toxic
principal threat waste at this site.”
The report exposes other issues with the EPA’s methodologies including a lack of
proper and adequate testing, not accounting for exponentially increasing levels of
radioactivity or “ingrowth,” and in general, any consideration for long term health
impacts. In a fit of macabre irony, for years, the community has been calling attention to
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many of the same concerns cited in the report and has been pleading with state and
federal officials to intervene.
"What else are they hiding? What we are calling for now is a full-blown
congressional investigation into the EPA’s Region 7 handling of the
West Lake Landfill. This site should be taken from EPA and placed with
the Army Corps of Engineers immediately"—Dawn Chapman, Just Moms
STL
“What really comes through in this report – which they’ve kept from us for more than
three years – is its one-sidedness,” remarked Dawn Chapman of Just Moms STL. “Time
and time again the EPA is called out for offering a view which supports basically doing
the least amount possible to protect this community. It’s no wonder the EPA wanted to
quash this report — and what else are they hiding from us? What we are calling for now
is a full-blown congressional investigation into the EPA’s Region 7 handling of the West
Lake Landfill. This site should be taken from EPA and placed with the Army Corps of
Engineers immediately.”
“The circumstances surrounding the suppression of this report, which has been
requested for years, needs to be investigated,” stated nuclear policy expert Bob
Alvarez.
Alvarez along with several other internationally recognized experts, including Dr. Helen
Caldicott and Lois Gibbs, have increased their focus on the West Lake Landfill, which
is currently under threat of a years-long subsurface fire which has been moving closer
to the known location of the radwaste. Sadly, because of the lack of adequate testing,
the community really doesn’t know where the radioactive material is or has gone over
the last 43 years.
“The circumstances surrounding the suppression of this report, which
has been requested for years, needs to be investigated,” stated nuclear
policy expert Bob Alvarez.
Independent investigations mounted by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster’s office
have decidedly shown that the material has migrated offsite — and due to the lack of
any comprehensive testing by the EPA, it would certainly be plausible for the radwaste
to have migrated to areas now on fire and yet the EPA continues dithering and refuses
to conduct a grid-like analysis of the site.
The West Lake Landfill is an orphaned legacy of the Manhattan Project and early U.S.
nuclear weapons program. It contains more than 43,000 tons of radiologically
contaminated material illegally dumped there by the Cotter Corporation in 1973.
Heightened levels of cancer and sickness have been documented in the area which is
part of a much larger contamination problem in north St. Louis County associated with
Mallinckrodt’s role in purifying industrial scale amounts of uranium for the U.S. nuclear
weapons project.
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The history of St. Louis’s role during the Manhattan Project can be read here; and the
uncovering of an existing law which unequivocally orders the “recall” of mishandled
nuclear byproduct material — which applies to West Lake — can be read here.
The NRRB report released yesterday cites numerous discrepancies in the EPA’s
calculus including conclusions concerning measurements from wells at the site, the
radiological impact on groundwater contamination, and calculations concerning the total
amount of radiologically impacted material (estimates ranging from 150,000—500,000
cubic yards). It also points the EPA toward reexamining its decision to not remove and
excavate the highly radiotoxic material.
“It’s just so ridiculous, why do they make it so hard for the people?”
commented Robbin Dailey, also with Just Moms STL. “They’re not the
‘Environmental Protection Agency’ anymore, they’re the ‘Protect Their
Own A** Agency.”
“Since the beginning, I and others have called on the EPA to seriously consider the
option of removing the waste instead of focusing only on containment,” said Missouri
State Representative Bill Otto in a statement today. “With this disclosure, public
pressure is mounting for the EPA to consider the advice of its own experts and move
forward on a plan to clean-up West Lake without further delay.”
“It’s just so ridiculous, why do they make it so hard for the people?” commented Robbin
Dailey, also with Just Moms STL. “They’re not the ‘Environmental Protection Agency’
anymore, they’re the ‘Protect Their Own A** Agency.”
To read the National Remedy Review Board report, click here.
To subscribe to this author's updates concerning the West Lake Landfill story,
click here.
4
EPA takes half measures to save face on
radioactive West Lake Landfill
April 7, 2016 10:26 AM MST BYRON DELEAR
Dr. Helen Caldicott interviewed by Libbe HaLevy for Nuclear Hotseat while touring the
smoldering radioactive West Lake Landfill. The EPA Superfund site has poisoned the
area and languished without clean-up for more than four decades.
Photo by Jonathan Lehmann
After the recent revelation of the Environmental Protection Agency "deciding" to remove
offsite radwaste at the West Lake Landfill—something they've essentially denied
existing for years—the beleaguered agency is now grasping at half-measured solutions
in its handling of the smoldering, radioactive site. Due to a transfer-bill recently
passed in the U.S. Senate, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now
scrambling to retain its jurisdiction over what's been called the most “complicated” and
“difficult” Superfund site in the nation. Some of these last-ditch efforts include hiring a
third-party mediator to facilitate further dialog with the community, and Gina McCarthy,
head of EPA, finally agreeing to meet Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel of Just Moms
STL after rebuffing them numerous times over the last year.
Today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board commented, "After leadfooting it
for years, the EPA has mustered the political will to engage a public crying for answers.
Unsurprisingly, the new openness occurs as Missouri’s congressional leaders are
seeking to transfer oversight for West Lake from the EPA to the Army Corps of
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Engineers. Amazing how a little pressure helps move stubborn bureaucrats off the
dime."
The EPA has also awakened to the fact that they need to remove radioactive material
that has migrated offsite despite knowing about it for more than two decades. Why
would the EPA need to remove any radioactive material if the site—as they’ve
repeatedly claimed—poses no health threat? It doesn’t make sense.
Meanwhile, as the environmental agency continues to dither and delay, the Federal
Government is currently ignoring an explicit legislative directive which orders the
removal of the threatening material. But like every development in this ongoing saga,
the Federal Government has taken a seemingly adversarial role with the community—a
community that’s only trying to save lives, protect the health of nearby residents, and
prevent a regional catastrophe. This, ostensibly, is the EPA’s mission; but the agency’s
pattern of behavior seems to betray a deeper concern for limiting financial liability rather
than protecting lives at risk.
“The EPA should stop fighting this community and follow its mission
instead of running interference.”—Byron Clemens
“The EPA should stop fighting this community and follow its mission instead of running
interference,” said Byron Clemens, local property owner. “Time and again they’ve
shown a propensity to minimize the real health threats posed by the presence of
Manhattan Project nuclear waste in St. Louis County.”
Clemens, a retired educator, has been an outspoken critic of the radiological
contamination of the region for many years. He added “there’s no doubt” families have
suffered from exposure to these wastes and cancer clusters have emerged throughout
the area. "Enough, is enough, it is long past time for our government to clean-up its
mess."
Last February, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill to transfer jurisdiction of the
West Lake Landfill away from EPA and establish the Army Corps of Engineers as the
lead agency at the site. However, as reported by CBS News and St. Louis Public Radio,
a companion bill in the U.S. House is currently being blocked in committee by
Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey.
"After more than 40 years of inaction and inadequate testing, the
suggestion that West Lake is in the midst of a fast clean-up process
does not pass the smell test."—Harvey Ferdman, Policy Advisor to
State Rep. Bill Otto
Rep. Pallone’s office has stated that both the EPA and Corps have “substantive
concerns” about the bill, and that due to these concerns, he questions whether this bill
will lead to a “faster, more robust cleanup process.”
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"After more than 40 years of inaction and inadequate testing, the suggestion that West
Lake is in the midst of a fast clean-up process does not pass the smell test," said
Harvey Ferdman, Policy Advisor to State Rep. Bill Otto.
In a call today to Rep. Pallone's office, it was explained that as the Ranking Member of
the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Pallone does not have the ability to
control the schedule of the committee and that the majority party or Chairman Rep. Fred
Upton (R-MI) dictates what is voted upon.
"Agencies such as the EPA, Department of Energy, and Nuclear
Regulatory Commission should embrace the Atomic Energy Act’s recall
provision and work with the community to remove the threatening
substances immediately."
Since last year, the Federal Government has been put on notice. The ultimate decision
to clean-up West Lake has been stymied by four decades of studies, finger-pointing,
and a supposed lack of jurisdictional authority until last November when a little known
recall provision within the Atomic Energy Act was brought to light. The pertinent federal
agencies and congressional delegation have been made aware of this standing law,
which orders the recall of mishandled nuclear byproduct material illegally dumped at
West Lake in 1973, but has yet to offer any explanation why it continues to ignore the
explicit directive.
Agencies such as the EPA, Department of Energy, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission
should embrace the Atomic Energy Act’s recall provision and work with the community
to remove the threatening substances immediately. This would be commensurate with
the EPA’s “basic mission to protect human health and the environment,” and would be a
great benefit to this community which has suffered four decades of inaction.
Another attempt by the EPA to save face is their hiring of a third-party mediator to
conduct non-binding conversations with the community. However, these conversations
will have no substantive impact on policy and in no way empowers the community
toward healing.
"Hiring a third-party non-binding mediator has only increased the
community’s distrust with the agency."
“This is an effort for us to have a good inclusive conversation,” said Cindy Cook,
principal of Adamant Accord, the firm hired to facilitate a series of discussions. “If
people don’t get together and have conversations, distrust grows.”
As some have expressed, hiring a third-party non-binding mediator has
only increased the community’s distrust with the agency. It has been expressed that the
last thing this community needs is more bureaucratic red tape when basic calls for
safety have gone unheeded in the face of misinformation, half-truths, and a tone-deaf
demeanor which is unwilling to admit past mistakes.
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“The Moms attend the Community Advisory Group (CAG) meetings which are run by
members of the local community in collaboration with EPA,” said Dawn Chapman, cofounder of Just Moms STL. “There is no need to set-up more EPA meetings under an
entirely new structure—that is asking too much and disrespectful to those who have
sacrificed so much. The community did not request this—we’ve been busy doing the
Federal Government’s job which is driving the process to find an expedited way to
clean-up the site and make this community whole. The EPA should focus on their
mission instead of engaging in a game of distraction.”
“Bureaucracy trumps science at the EPA, and we see this in their
handling of Flint, Michigan as well—it’s not about whether the water is
safe to drink, it’s how can we save face now that we know we screwedup.”—Dawn Chapman, Just Moms STL
With the amount of bad press the EPA has received recently, including the debacle of
widespread lead poisoning in Flint Michigan, it’s understandable that the agency would
maneuver to rehabilitate its image. Unfortunately, these actions are hollow and will have
no substantive influence on meeting the needs of the affected population. Sadly, the
fact is, the agency has repeatedly failed this community for decades and for St.
Louisans it will be exceedingly difficult to restore any faith or trust that the EPA is up to
the task of cleaning-up West Lake. That’s why the community, Missouri's bipartisan
congressional delegation, Attorney General Chris Koster, St. Louis County Council, and
numerous other stakeholders all support transferring jurisdiction of West Lake to the
Army Corps of Engineers. The bottom line is that the Army Corps of Engineers has the
capacity to execute the clean-up of nuclear weapons-related waste like they have for
the other 100 contaminated sites in the region.
“In 1991, the agency was told about more than 4600 tons of offsite radioactive
contamination and EPA sat on it for 25 years,” added Chapman. “All of a sudden they
want to clean this spot up now? Bureaucracy trumps science at the EPA, and we see
this in their handling of Flint, Michigan as well—it’s not about whether the water is safe
to drink, it’s how can we save face now that we know we screwed-up. The people who
live here really deserve better.”
To subscribe to this author's updates concerning the West Lake Landfill story, click
here.
8
Helen Caldicott to conduct nuclear
symposium in St. Louis: ‘The Atoms Next
Door'
February 13, 2016 11:19 PM MST BYRON DELEAR
The inimitable Dr. Helen Caldicott will be traveling to Saint Louis to conduct
a symposium on the health impacts of radioactivity and nuclear waste on Saturday,
February 20th at St. Louis Community College-Wildwood. Recently, the
radioactive West Lake Landfill in north St. Louis County has made international
headlines due to an encroachingunderground fire threatening to incinerate
the radwaste, in addition to the revelation of the largely unheralded, pivotal role St.
Louis played for the Manhattan Project during World War II.
9
St. Louis Community College
The situation at West Lake is a particularly egregious example of federal negligence.
The EPA, now increasingly beleaguered with mounting scandals such as lead poisoning
in Flint, has done virtually nothing to clean-up the West Lake site. For 43 years,
an escalatory track depicts increasing levels of sickness, disease, and death for
nearby residents. We have been covering this evolving story in a series of articles
including unpacking the convoluted history and delving into how and why this
highly radiotoxic material was orphaned and left to plague the region. Dr. Caldicott’s
visit next Saturday comes in the wake of the passage of a bipartisan U.S. Senate
bill to replace the EPA with the Army Corps of Engineers as the lead agency to facilitate
the site’s clean-up. Companion legislation is still pending in the U.S. House.
At Saturday's symposium, Caldicott will be joined by Robert Alvarez, senior scholar at
the Institute for Policy Studies and former senior policy advisor to the Secretary and
Deputy Assistant Secretary for National Security and the Environment (1993-1999);
Denise Brock, ombudsman for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health’s Office of Compensation Analysis and Support and the Centers for Disease
Control; Dr. Sam Page, St. Louis County Councilman (Dist. 2); and Mark Harder, St.
Louis County Councilman (Dist. 7). Ray Hartmann, of “St. Louis Magazine” and
“Donnybrook,” will help further the dialog among these professionals and an audience of
special guests, community members, academics and students.
"My main role and task at the St. Louis symposium
will be as a pediatrician and physician in talking to
the people about the medical effects of this
dreadful situation that they’re living with day-by10
day, week-by-week, year-by-year."—Dr. Helen
Caldicott
An internationally recognized expert on the dangers of nuclear energy, Dr. Caldicott is
the recipient of 21 honorary doctoral degrees in part for work on the nuclear disasters of
Three Mile Island, Fukushima, and Chernobyl. As the founding president of the
Physicians for Social Responsibility, she helped organize 23,000 medical professionals
in educating the public about nuclear industry perils, and in 1985, the umbrella
organization for these efforts was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
In an exclusive with Examiner.com, I asked her to explain the purpose of her trip to St.
Louis:
Helen Caldicott: “I’m very much looking forward to my trip to St. Louis and to the
symposium held at the community college because I think it’s imperative that people—
mothers, fathers, and grandparents—understand the medical dangers of living near a
nuclear waste dump. It’s surprising to me that there hasn’t been one official data
collection program by the Federal Government about how many cancers have been
produced since this dump was initiated so many years ago and what sort of cancers
they are. It’s quite astonishing to me that this has been neglected and the people living
next door to this dump are victims of the Manhattan Project. So, I’m looking forward to
explaining to people how radiation causes cancer, genetic abnormalities, and congenital
defects; I’m looking forward to explain the decay cycle of uranium and thorium—they
decay into many other elements, many of which are highly carcinogenic and dangerous.
My main role and task at the symposium will be as a pediatrician and physician in
talking to the people about the medical effects of this dreadful situation that they’re living
with day-by-day, week-by-week, year-by-year.
I founded Physicians for Social Responsibility in 1978, an organization that was defunct
for several years. We restarted it and recruited 23,000 physicians in America in 153
chapters, and we educated the American people about the medical dangers of all
phases of the nuclear fuel chain from uranium mining, milling, and enrichment; nuclear
power; nuclear waste; and nuclear weapons—but specifically, the medical implications
of nuclear war. So I’ll be talking from that perspective.
"There’s a kind of 'nuclear fiction' in America that
stems from the Manhattan Project and that brings
us back to West Lake again and the people who are
suffering there."
Byron DeLear: “Why do you think that these federal agencies seem to tend to want to
obfuscate and cover-up the real health impacts of this contamination?”
HC: “The federal agencies are not really interested in remediation unless they
absolutely have to do it because they’re interested in building bombs and building
nuclear power plants—but cleaning-up their mess? That’s not part of their agenda and
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never has been. The problem is that we’re now moving into the period of nuclear
waste—we’re leaving the period or the “age” of nuclear power because it’s not working
and cannot be financed; it’s so expensive, and because we’re moving rapidly into
renewable energy.
So, now we’ve got, I think its 350,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste accumulating
around the world; in Japan, in Britain, in France, in many European countries at their
nuclear reactors. Specifically in America and Russia, the waste is emanating from the
production of nuclear weapons and this is what we’re dealing with at West Lake.
There’s no interest really in the government doing anything about it because they like to
invent things and in particular want to work with the atom which is an extreme and
powerful form of energy. But cleaning-up the waste doesn’t interest them because many
of them are physicists and engineers—they don’t understand the medical ramifications.
If they themselves get cancer from having dealt with radiation then they kind of
understand, but its swept under the carpet mostly and so the money at present—over a
trillion dollars—is going to build new nuclear weapons and delivery systems over the
next 30 years—a trillion dollars, which is absolutely obscene.
"The waste is emanating from the production of
nuclear weapons and this is what we’re dealing
with at West Lake."—Dr. Helen Caldicott
There’s a kind of “nuclear fiction” in America that stems from the Manhattan Project and
that brings us back to West Lake again and the people who are suffering there. The
problem is the absolute persistence of this waste—the half-life of Uranium-238 is 4.5
billion years, so it will be there forever. And what do they do with it? Pick it up? And
where do they take it? What poor community will have to put up with this radioactive
detritus for the rest of time? Do they bury in the desert? What if it rains because of
global warming and it contaminates underground rivers and food supplies and all that?
So, the situation is overwhelming.
"No one knows what to do with radioactive waste.
I’ve been saying for 40 years, what are you going to
do with the waste? And they say, ‘Trust us we’re
excellent scientists, one day we’ll find the answer.’"
No one knows what to do with radioactive waste. I’ve been saying for 40 years, what
are you going to do with the waste? And they say, ‘Trust us we’re excellent scientists,
one day we’ll find the answer.’ Well, that’s like me saying to a patient, ‘Well, you’ve got
a pancreatic carcinoma, your prognosis is about six months, but trust me in about 20
years time I’ll find a cure.’ There is a situation in America called the ‘Waste Confidence
Act’ which means that the industry has ‘confidence’—confidence that one day they’ll
work out what to do with all this radioactive waste. So, the situation is insane, or should
I say is “there is a gap between reality and perception of reality.” And it’s extremely
serious. This waste down the time-track will induce, as I wrote in my book Nuclear
Madness in 1978, epidemics of cancer, leukemia, genetic disease, congenital
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deformities for the rest of time. But no one really wants to know about it until there’s a
nuclear accident like Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, or Fukushima, where everyone is
desperate to know what’s happening. So you can talk until you’re blue in the face to
educate people, but until they really understand in an acute situation they tend not to be
so interested. But the people living near West Lake, they understand, and the power of
the people is the ultimate power for redress. As Jefferson said, ‘An informed democracy
will behave in a responsible fashion.’ So, what I like to do is practice preventive
medicine by teaching people the dangers so that they’ll do something about it.
BD: A lot of these local communities, counties, and cities feel under siege by a
recalcitrant and callous Federal Government, like the EPA. You mention the power of
the people is really the ultimate solution in calling attention to these nuclear waste sites,
what are some of your insights into how that movement really becomes energized?
HC: Everyone can be a ‘John’ or ‘Joan of Arc’—I came to America [from Australia] and
was called an ‘alien’—a young woman doctor. And because of my passion and my
knowledge I led a movement. I was the leader of the [Nuclear] Freeze Movement along
with Randy Forsberg who wrote ‘the Freeze’ [Call to Halt the Arms Race] and we
mobilized the American people. You can do anything you want to do if you’ve got the
passion in your soul and you speak your truth. Don’t try and please people, only speak
the truth, and be determined to get to where you want to go.
"You can do anything you want to do if you’ve got
the passion in your soul and you speak your truth."
If you want to go and see the President, you can get to see the President. I spent an
hour and a quarter with Ronald Reagan. You can do whatever you want if you decide to
do it and that’s what a democracy is about. You’ve got to use your democracy—make
sure your representatives represent you and not the corporations—but take it beyond
that and educate the whole population. I mean, it’s all possible. You just have to decide
if you’re going to do it. And it really is about love—if you love your children and you love
your grandchildren, that’s what you’ll do.”
The event this Saturday begins at 6 p.m. with a reception and art gallery exhibit
featuring work inspired by the people and communities affected by nuclear waste. The
exhibit includes paintings, drawings and photographs from three artists: Christen
Commuso, founder of the “Humans of West Lake Landfill” Facebook page; Jason
Hargrove, creator of the “Contaminate St. Louis” exhibit; and Chris Davis, son of the first
Mallinckrodt claimant to be compensated under the Energy Employees Occupational
Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).
While the event is free and open to the public, reservations are required. To register,
visit https://goo.gl/dqGIs4.
Saturday, Feb. 20 from 6-9 p.m. at St. Louis Community College-Wildwood, 2645
Generations Drive in Wildwood, Missouri.
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LETTER TO MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL CHRIS KOSTER
February 11, 2016
Byron DeLear
Maryland Heights, MO.
[email protected]
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster
James Farnsworth
Supreme Court Building
207 W. High St.
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
[email protected]
Dear Attorney General Chris Koster and James Farnsworth:
It is with great humility that I assemble these documents including in my opinion the
most succinct narratives, technical white papers, agency primary sources, and pertinent
governmental studies for your review with regard to the radiologically contaminated
West Lake Landfill located in Bridgeton, MO. I write you as a concerned private citizen
and do not represent the positions or views of any private, governmental, or
nongovernmental organization with regard to the West Lake Landfill. As a resident
living approximately 6 miles south of the site, I have grave concern about the presence
of a large quantity of uncontained Manhattan Project nuclear waste in our community.
After researching many of the primary source documents, it is self-evident that the case
at West Lake has slipped through the cracks and become a cross-jurisdictional “nuclearGordian knot.” After 42 years, continuous finger-pointing, and an endless train of
studies and reports, little has been done to clean it up. However, the administerial
paralysis has not come without a heavy price. Emerging health studies and surveys are
revealing elevated levels of sickness, disease, and death in the affected area. Property
values have plummeted and the state of general anxiety felt by local residents due to the
perception of a growing threat is only further exacerbated by what appears to be a
callous, unresponsive system of government.
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As articulated by the leading action group, Just Moms STL, the community has three
basic demands: 1. The site’s clean-up must be moved from the EPA Superfund to the St.
Louis-based, Army Corps of Engineers FUSRAP program which has the capacity and
expertise to clean-up Manhattan Project and Atomic Energy Commission legacy sites; 2.
One mile buyout for nearby residents (approx. 90 homes); and, 3. Property value
protection in a 5-mile radius.
Please find below information regarding the recent unearthing of a very specific
legislative obligation within the Atomic Energy Act that orders the “recall” of any
mishandled distributed radioactive materials. This clause seems to be perfectly matched
to our case at West Lake, and because we’ve never heard it cited before, the provision
seems to have been hidden in plain sight. Leading national litigators and nuclear policy
experts have expressed that this legal approach is sound and could have a significant
and timely impact on the developing situation at the West Lake Landfill.
I look forward to further communication with you to strategize toward a safe and
permanent solution for not only nearby residents but the entire St. Louis Metropolitan
region. Our region has been negatively impacted by the more than 100 contaminated
sites leftover from the pivotal role our city played in the Manhattan Project in the
defense of our nation. Sadly, the service and sacrifice has come at a very dear price. It’s
time for a grateful nation to recognize the critical national security role St. Louis played
and begin the healing of this community by breaking the impasse at West Lake and
finally cleaning it up.
Sincerely,
Byron DeLear
[email protected]
(314) 445-7911
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Brief Background
Between 43,000 — 48,000 tons of highly radiotoxic byproduct material was illegally
dumped at the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Missouri in 1973. Because much of this
material was impacted by the Belgian Congo Pitchblende source material processed by
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works that provided the extremely concentrated uranium for the
Manhattan Project and early Cold War nuclear weapons program, the presence of
remaining Uranium and Thorium decay products in these wastes are particularly
pronounced.
As Robert Alvarez explains in The West Lake Landfill: A Radioactive Legacy of the
Nuclear Arms Race, “Because of the removal of uranium at Mallinckrodt from the
residues disposed at the West Lake site, radioactive decay products of uranium were
highly concentrated. In particular, the high ratio of Thorium-230 to Radium-226
indicates that as thorium-230 decays, there will be a substantial “in-growth” of alpha
radioactivity – meaning that the radioactivity in the West Lake landfill will increase by
10 to 100 times over a 9,100- year period.”
Much of the technical information with regard to the radiological contamination at West
Lake, health impacts, and potential remedies are laid out in several reports starting in
the 1970s on up to the two most recent (2013) white papers by Bob Alvarez and Dr.
Robert Criss which are linked to below. Some of the most informative and complete
reports are the 1996 St. Louis Remediation Task Force report, the 1984 University of
Missouri report, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 1988 report. In addition, a
recent peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity establishes
that fugitive radon gas emanating from West Lake is poisoning the region. This is
evidenced by pronounced levels of unsupported Lead-210—a toxicological and
radioactive substance down the decay chain from Radon—found in approximately half
of the soil samples in the surrounding region.
What these documents clearly illustrate is that this orphaned material cannot safely
remain uncontained in a densely populated county of 1 million people, in a flood plain,
and upstream from municipal water intakes for north St. Louis County and the City of
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St. Louis. Now that the encroaching underground fire at the adjacent Bridgeton Landfill
(euphemistically, “subsurface smoldering event”) is threatening to reach the radwaste,
West Lake has been propelled into the national spotlight and has inspired increased
scrutiny and attention.
However, what is neither contained in any of these stories and reports nor any of the
legal approaches I have read to date is the utilization or even awareness of the legislative
mandate in the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1946 and its amended version in 1954. The
AEA contains a mandatory obligation to ‘recall’ any mishandled distributed byproduct
materials. I have briefly started exploring this topic in a 2-part investigative series for
my column for Examiner.com. Part 1, Does existing law already order the ‘recall’ of
radwaste at West Lake? is copied below for your perusal. Part 2, is also copied below.
Although there are several legal push backs to this interpretation which I have discussed
in some detail with both nuclear industry litigator Diane Curran and policy expert Bob
Alvarez, the legislative intent is clear. While the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
possessed the authority to distribute material to private or nongovernmental entities,
should any of the distributed material become a health threat to the public, or be used in
a way that violates the law, or be handled in a manner beyond purview of the issued
license, the AEC “shall recall” the distributed materials.
After further investigation, it appears a specific track of violation of law and regulatory
violations have occurred with regard to the radiological contamination at the West Lake
Landfill. These regulatory violations and illegal actions were primarily conducted by
both the AEC and the private entity licensee, Cotter Corporation.
Firstly, the AEC licensing of “source material” appears to violate the law due to the
omission of any mention, or accompanying licensure, of the large contingent of tens of
thousands of tons of highly dangerous byproduct material wastes which the source
material was embedded in; Secondly, the failure on behalf of the AEC to obey the AEA in
recalling the distributed materials once they became a health threat, and/or were
handled in a manner beyond the scope of the license, and/or were handled in an illegal
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manner; Thirdly, dereliction of duty on behalf of the AEC in regard to an abandonment
of their oversight responsibilities by prematurely terminating Cotter Corporation’s
license without inspecting the contaminated Latty Avenue site; Fourthly, Cotter
Corporation’s illegally diluting licensed material with supposed unlicensed material
(Latty Avenue “topsoil”) with the goal of obtaining a diluted mixture with levels of
source material below licensable requirements, and; Finally, Cotter Corporation’s illegal
dumping of that material at the West Lake Landfill misrepresenting the substances as
“clean fill dirt” to the then landfill operator. It’s important to note that the topsoil has
been later deduced to be anything but clean fill dirt—to wit, later tests of the Latty
Avenue site, the source of the topsoil, show high levels of radiological contamination.
This is why numerous tests of West Lake material show high levels of Uranium decay
products and in particular one of the highest known concentrations of Thorium-230
anywhere. Thorium-230 is about 60,000 times more radioactive than uranium and is
comparable to plutonium in regard to its toxicity. Further, the primary substance
illegally dumped at West Lake—8700 tons of leached barium sulfate containing 7 tons of
uranium—is described by NIOSH in a dose reconstruction report from 2005 as the
“worst source” of contaminants in the collection of wastes generated by Mallinckrodt in
St. Louis.
Out of the 100 contaminated sites in the St. Louis region, all have been included in the
pertinent federal clean-up program (FUSRAP) except for the West Lake Landfill. The
exclusion of West Lake has been due to confusing issues of ownership, the incomplete
and potentially illegal licensing framework, and the unsanctioned illegal dumping by
Cotter Corporation at West Lake, a site not licensed by the AEC. It appears that because
the licensing was incorrect and incomplete, and the byproduct materials were never
really fully accounted for, the AEC failed to obey the AEA’s provisions to protect the
public by essentially distributing tens of thousands of tons of highly dangerous,
radiotoxic byproduct material without license.
In conclusion, during a period of agency upheaval and a “changing-of-the-guard”
between the Atomic Energy Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the
Federal Government dropped the ball and didn’t follow the law. I am unaware of what
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legal remedies are currently available to rectify these AEC illegalities, and also unaware
of how that would impact the current EPA Superfund structure that has been grafted
onto this orphaned site—but it seems to me, at least with regard to the spirit of the law,
that the order to remove the threatening, mishandled material still stands.
Pertinent Timeline with some legal considerations for West Lake:
1942: Mallinckrodt Chemical Works begins processing uranium for the top-secret
Manhattan Project in St. Louis, MO. The first 40 tons of uranium needed for the world’s
first self-sustained and controlled nuclear chain reaction are produced. In December,
the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction is achieved by the Manhattan Engineer
District (MED) in Chicago.
1945: Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, with uranium
processed and purified by MED at Mallinckrodt.
1946: The Atomic Energy Act (AEA) establishes the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
which transitions nuclear development from military to civilian control. The legislation
provides stipulation concerning the distribution and licensing of radioactive materials.
1946: 22-acre site near the St. Louis Airport (SLAPS) is used to store nuclear residues
and waste. Eventually, more than 125,000 tons of waste and residues are stored there in
rusting barrels and piles out in the open. Coldwater Creek runs adjacent to the site and
begins transporting the cancerous material through several densely populated zip codes
in north St. Louis County. Haul routes and other vicinity properties are contaminated.
1962: Contemporary Metals purchases entire contents of the SLAPS site from Atomic
Energy Commission for $126,500. The license issued is for “source material” despite the
fact that as defined by the AEA, “byproduct material” is the exact same raffinate-type
wastes stored at SLAPS. Although a quantity of source material is present in the waste
stream, the licensing is in error due to no mention of the associated distribution of
byproduct material, and/or an accompanying license covering the byproduct material
wastes. In effect, from a licensing perspective, the AEC has essentially “disappeared” the
wastes embedded around a small quantity of source material with dubious economic
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value. In the AEC’s instructions to bidders, it includes a curious requirement that
everything must go from the airport site, describes the contents as one of the largest
known amounts of Thorium ("With a half-life of 77,500 years, thorium-230 is about
60,000 times more radioactive than uranium," and is comparable to plutonium in
regard to its toxicity.), and in all caps: "THE BIDDER IS ADVISED THAT THE ATOMIC ENERGY
COMMISSION WILL NOT PURCHASE DIRECTLY URANIUM RECOVERED FROM PROCESSING OF
RESIDUES TO BE PURCHASED UNDER THIS INVITATION,"
which brings into question any
real economic value associated with the source materials being auctioned.
1962-1969: The “nuclear hot-potato” period. Contemporary Metals either changes its
name or requests transfer of AEC license to its subsidiary Continental Mining and
Milling. Regardless, Continental Mining and Milling goes into receivership and its
lender for the original purchase of the SLAPS materials, Commercial Discount
Corporation, acquires the assets and another AEC license is issued. At this time some of
the material has been transported to the nearby Latty Avenue site (Hazelwood Interim
Storage Site or HISS) for drying to reduce weight for shipping. Eventually, Cotter
Corporation purchases the material from Commercial Discount Corporation and
another AEC license is issued. Cotter ships much of the material to its processing facility
in Canon City, Colorado.
1971: At the behest of U.S. Sen. Peter Dominick of Colorado, AEC officials meet with
Cotter senior executives to discuss disposal options for the remaining wastes at Latty
Avenue that Cotter does not want. During this period, several attempts were made by
Cotter to dispose of the material at Weldon Spring and other uranium tailings sites.
Weldon Spring and the others reject Cotter’s proposal to dispose of the Latty Avenue
byproduct materials.
1973: Cotter mixes 8700 tons of leached barium sulfate with contaminated soil from
Latty Ave and illegally dumps it at West Lake. The total amount is between 43,000 tons
and 48,000 tons. By law, AEC is required to recall mishandled material but instead
terminates Cotter’s license in 1974. The key is that the “byproduct materials,” which as
defined by law are an exact match for the materials stored at SLAPS since 1946, are to be
recalled when they are mishandled by a license holder. If it was proper for the AEC to
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license the Uranium and Thorium source materials contained in the much larger
quantity of SLAPS wastes and residues, the violation of law seems to occur by the
associated byproduct materials being distributed without license (as the transporting
“vehicle” for the source materials). In so doing, the AEC has bypassed explicit provisions
within the AEA governing the distribution of byproduct materials with the express
purpose of protecting national security and the general health and welfare of the public.
1974: A May 17, 1974, AEC enforcement report on Cotter's disposal of the Latty Avenue
waste material to the West Lake Landfill states that, ‘...the licensee is clearly in violation
of 10 CFR 20.301 in that he disposed of licensed material in an unauthorized manner...
We believe that the licensee should be cited for a violation of 10 CFR 20.301.’” On
November 1, 1974, the AEC sent a letter to Cotter officially informing the company that
the West Lake Landfill disposal violated the Commission's regulatory oversight: “The
disposal does not appear to be within the intent of the Commission's regulation, 10 CFR
Part 40, to allow alteration of the physical nature of Source material (i.e. dilution of
solids with nonradioactive source material) in order to obtain a physical mixture which
would no longer be subjected to licensing by the Commission.”
1980s: University of Missouri and NRC perform comprehensive testing and
radiological surveys of West Lake. Please find links to these reports below.
1990: EPA places the West Lake site on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).
The NPL is a list of priority sites promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
of 1980, as amended. The NPL is found in Appendix B of the National Oil and
Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). Eventually there are three
Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) identified: the Department of Energy (inheritor
of AEC’s role), Exelon (inheritor of Cotter’s liability), and Republic Services, the
property owner of the site.
2008: EPA issues Record of Decision regarding West Lake. After public outcry, the
decision is pulled back.
2013: Missouri AG sues Republic Services.
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Part 1: Does existing law already order the ‘recall’ of radwaste at
West Lake?
By Byron DeLear for Examiner.com | November 4, 2015
Many of you who have been following the ever-evolving West Lake Landfill story know the
history of how the Manhattan Project, established during World War II to create the first working
atomic weapons, produced over 125,000 tons of nuclear waste in St. Louis, Missouri. To give
you a sense of how much material this is, the towering, 630-foot tall Gateway Arch, made of
steel and concrete, only weighs 43,000 tons. In 1973, somewhere between 43,000 and 48,000
tons of radioactive contaminants were illegally dumped at the West Lake Landfill. Currently, the
landfill has become a national news story due to a migrating underground fire which some
experts estimate could reach the radioactive material in as little as 3-6 months. What would
follow has been described as a potentially “catastrophic event.” After 42 years of finger-pointing
and an endless train of studies and reports, the West Lake Landfill has yet to be cleaned-up, but
we may have finally found the “smoking gun” as to why it slipped through the cracks. Bottom
line? During a period of agency upheaval and a “changing-of-the-guard” between the Atomic
Energy Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Government dropped the
ball and didn’t follow the law.
In 1942, the Manhattan Project began processing uranium for the war effort at Mallinckrodt
Chemical Works in St. Louis, Missouri. The utmost secrecy of the Manhattan Project is wellknown today; company work orders used code names such as “orange juice,” “derbies,” “cocoa,”
and “biscuits” for various top-secret processes and materials. As explained in a 1962-issue of
Mallinckrodt News, “the word uranium was taboo, and the project became identified with the
name ‘Tube Alloy Process.’” One of the first Manhattan Project/Mallinckrodt documents from
1942 shows the name “Uranium Oxide S.L.” penciled-out and replaced with “Tube Alloy
Dioxide.”
For the next 15 years, the best kept secret in St. Louis produced tens of thousands of tons of
processed uranium for the defense of our nation, and until the late 1950s, was the only source of
this material for the entire country. However, the various processes also generated more than a
hundred thousand of tons of nuclear waste and residues which in some instances were actually
more radioactive than the uranium product itself.
“Eventually, more than 100 radiologically contaminated locations
were identified throughout the St. Louis region.”
Beginning in 1946, this highly dangerous, radiotoxic material was stored on a 22-acre site near
the city airport, some buried, some in rusting barrels, some littered on the surface in piles. As
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reported that year by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, company officials and security officers stated
the material was neither radioactive nor dangerous. Tragically, the cancer-causing substances
began seeping into nearby Coldwater Creek which runs through several densely populated zip
codes in north St. Louis County. During July-October 1973, 3000 truckloads of the stuff were
dumped at the West Lake Landfill. Eventually, more than 100 radiologically contaminated
locations were identified throughout the St. Louis region.
Today, all of these sites have fallen under the appropriate federal clean-up program (FUSRAP)
for nuclear weapons-related waste except for the West Lake Landfill. Why? It all comes down to
an obscure transaction in the 1960s when the Atomic Energy Commission auctioned off all the
contents of the airport nuclear waste site. Oddly, instructions to bidders said, “everything must
go.” The eventual owner of the material, Cotter Corporation, shipped much of the material to its
processing facility in Colorado, but more than 40,000 tons were illegally dumped at West Lake.
The supposed reasoning for West Lake's exclusion is that because the radwaste was illegally
handled and dumped by a private entity, the Federal Government has been essentially absolved
of its responsibility to clean it up. Consequently, the “impasse at West Lake” persists to this day
despite the fact that its dangerous, radiotoxic material is the exact same material from the exact
same source as the other 100 contaminated sites in the region. Some have suggested that this is a
form of “territorial discrimination” adversely affecting nearby residents and that the site’s
exclusion from clean-up violates the principle of equal protection under the law.
“The ‘impasse at West Lake’ persists to this day despite the fact that
it’s dangerous, radiotoxic material is the exact same material from the
exact same source as the other 100 contaminated sites in the region.”
With regard to West Lake, the system seems to have broken down. It is failing the community.
Health studies now underway are beginning to show the real human cost of four decades of
inaction. The State of Missouri reports a 300% increase in childhood brain cancer for the zip
code immediately surrounding the landfill. Noxious and toxic fumes emit from the site, property
values have plummeted, and people are beyond fed-up. The West Lake Facebook page has
grown in the last few weeks from less than 4000 to over 18,000 concerned citizens. Local school
districts have written parents to warn of the situation, and this week, Just Moms STL delivered
12,000 signatures in a black coffin calling for Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to declare a state of
emergency. Nixon has yet to respond.
Elected and appointed officials are often dumbstruck when asked about the impasse at West
Lake. There just doesn’t seem to be a reasonable explanation why in a suburban county with a
population of one million a landfill topped with Manhattan Project nuclear waste hasn’t been
cleaned-up. But there may be a good reason for their hesitancy and confusion—there should
have never been an impasse in the first place.
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“According to U.S. law, the illegally dumped material at West Lake
must be removed by the U.S. government.”
Recently it was discovered that the legislative authority under which these nuclear wastes were
licensed clearly states that if any “byproduct material” was illegally handled, or if that material
poses an ongoing health hazard, or if the material was dealt with in a manner beyond the purview
of the licensed use, the Federal Government must “recall” the waste. Yes, you heard that
correctly, the Atomic Energy Commission, in its establishing legislation from 1946 and its later
amended authority in 1954, is directed to pull-back any distributed radioactive materials that
have been mishandled. Simply put, according to U.S. law, the illegally dumped material at West
Lake must be removed by the U.S. government.
“The [Atomic Energy] Commission... shall recall any distributed materials from any applicant,
who is not equipped to observe or who fails to observe such safety standards to protect health as
may be established by the Commission or who uses such materials in violation of law or
regulation of the Commission or in a manner other than as disclosed in the [license] application
therefor.” ~ Atomic Energy Act of 1946
The 1973 dumping of radioactive material by the Cotter Corporation at the West Lake Landfill
perfectly fits this scenario and triggers all three conditions, namely, 1. The radiotoxic waste
presents an ongoing health and safety risk; 2. The dumping of this waste violated the law; and, 3.
Cotter Corporation clearly went beyond the scope of its AEC license.
“Congress intended to protect the public with these provisions of the Atomic Energy Act,” said
Diane Curran, a leading attorney on a wide range of nuclear licensing and enforcement cases.
“The risk posed by the encroaching fire calls for fast action by the Federal Government to ensure
prompt cleanup of the West Lake landfill for compliance with the government’s responsibilities
under the Atomic Energy Act.”
The hope is that this clause in the original Atomic Energy Act legislation now brought to light
communicates unequivocally that the people of the United States through their representatives
have expressed a very clear directive that nuclear material under the control of the AEC should
never be allowed to persist as a health threat to any community after being mishandled by a
private entity. Those of us in the community would like to see the material removed immediately
and believe it is the Federal Government's responsibility to do so. The explicit directive cited in
this article only bolsters this opinion.
“Regardless of who is financially responsible, at the end of the day this community needs to be
brought out from under the mushroom cloud of the Manhattan Project,” said Dawn Chapman of
Just Moms STL. “This law says the Federal Government must act whenever licensed material
threatens the safety of the public—frankly, this happened as soon as those licenses were issued.”
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Part 2: Does existing law already order the ‘recall’ of radwaste at
West Lake?
By Byron DeLear for Examiner.com | January 30, 2016
In Part 1 of this series, we laid out the history the how the Manhattan Project produced over
125,000 tons of nuclear waste in St. Louis, Missouri which was stored out in the open at several
sites. Between 43,000-48,000 tons of this highly toxic, radioactive material was illegally dumped
at the West Lake Landfill. After 43 years of finger-pointing and an endless train of studies and
reports, the West Lake Landfill has yet to be cleaned-up, but we may have finally found the
“smoking gun” as to why it slipped through the cracks. Bottom line? During a period of agency
upheaval and a “changing-of-the-guard” between the Atomic Energy Commission and Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, the Federal Government dropped the ball and didn’t follow the law.
Atomic Energy Commission / public domain
Since publishing Part 1 of this expose last November, calls have come in from the General
Counsel of the Department of Energy—the successor to the Atomic Energy Commission—to
discuss the legal ramifications. We have also received calls from a number of legal experts,
attorneys, and elected officials who are all investigating the matter further.
The lynchpin here is a provision within the Atomic Energy Act which states that if any nuclear
byproduct material distributed by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) is used in a manner
which violates the law or presents an ongoing public health threat, the AEC is directed to "recall"
that material. This directive within the Atomic Energy Act—which is still the standing law of the
land—is similar to product recalls designed to address safety issues and limit liability associated
25
with any particular device which endangers the public. In the case of the radwaste at West Lake,
a triggered recall provision would remove the threatening material.
“The Atomic Energy Act has these provisions in place to
protect the public. Although litigation to coerce the
Department of Energy to follow these provisions is
certainly possible, I would hope that due to the present
circumstances of the landfill fire, the Federal Government
would pursue a remedy without delay.” — Diane Curran,
Harmon, Curran, Spielberg + Eisenberg, LLP
“The Atomic Energy Act has these provisions in place to protect the public,” said Diane Curran,
a leading attorney on a wide range of nuclear licensing and enforcement cases. “Although
litigation to coerce the Department of Energy to follow these provisions is certainly possible, I
would hope that due to the present circumstances of the landfill fire, the Federal Government
would pursue a remedy without delay.”
Digging down further into the weeds, it’s clear that even the licensing structure for this nuclear
waste may have violated the law. When the AEC auctioned off this material for a buck-a-ton,
they licensed it as “source material” when it really was “byproduct material,” as defined by
statute. In fact, virtually all of the waste and residues generated by Mallinckrodt Chemical Works
during WWII and the early Cold War years was nuclear byproduct material.
Now the AEC may have accurately identified some of the substances sold as “source material,”
but the radwaste dumped at West Lake clearly was not. As defined by the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 (as amended) “byproduct material” means, among other things, “the tailings or wastes
produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore processed
primarily for its source material content.”
This is an exact description of the uranium processing that Mallinckrodt performed for the U.S.
nuclear weapons program; it is an exact description of the radioactive materials stored at the
airport site (SLAPS), and then later at Latty Avenue (HISS); and it is an exact fit for what was
dumped at West Lake. Here, it would seem, the legislative intent is peremptory, meaning
“without debate.”
Further, this brings into question the validity of the original licensing that the AEC granted with
regard to the nuclear waste stored at the St. Louis Airport and Latty Avenue sites. Again, the
licensing was for “source material,” which essentially is defined as pure uranium and thorium;
but the source material was embedded in a far larger contingent of highly radiotoxic byproduct
material, “raffinate,” or nuclear waste. This is where the pertinent Atomic Energy Act provisions
to protect the public’s safety and national security should have kicked in—but they didn’t. It was
as if the AEC wanted to get rid of all the material in one fell swoop, outsourcing federal
responsibilities, pretending the waste wasn’t even there. In erroneously granting source material
licenses for byproduct material, the Federal Government offloaded tens of thousands of tons of
radioactive waste and, in essence, erased it from their balance sheet.
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The fact that West Lake radwaste is byproduct material has even been recognized by the Federal
Government.
In an EPA Administrative Order from 1993, the “Findings of Fact” state: “In 1966, the Atomic
Energy Commission ("AEC") sold 8,700 tons of leached barium sulfate, together with other
radioactive residues, to Continental Mining and Milling company ("Continental Mining"). The
radioactive residues were generated as by-products of uranium processing performed by the
AEC's contractor. These processing residues were stored at the AEC's St. Louis Airport Storage
Site ("SLAPSS").”
“It appears agencies like the EPA are doubling down on
past mistakes and only want to dig deeper when what the
Federal Government should be digging is the radioactive
material out of this community.”
After the dumping at West Lake occurred, which included Latty Avenue "topsoil," tests of Latty
Avenue revealed, “thorium and radium contamination in excess of federal guidelines was found
in and around the buildings and in the soil to depths of 18 inches.” This leads to the conclusion
that the 39,000 tons of Latty Ave topsoil was actually an unholy concoction of contaminants
associated with pretty much everything that had sat out in the open at the site—Belgian Congo
Pitchblende Raffinate, Radium Bearing Residues, Colorado Raffinate, etc. Raffinate is what’s
left over after the uranium has been chemically extracted—again, an exact match for what’s
defined as “byproduct material” in the Atomic Energy Act.
These various forms of radwaste also contaminated Coldwater Creek which acted as a mode of
transport throughout north St. Louis County. Latty Avenue was included in the St. Louis-based
Army Corps of Engineers FUSRAP clean-up program and you can read here about how
numerous adjacent properties, haul routes, local parks, churches, and even people's backyards
were contaminated and included in the clean-up. This messy migration of radioactive substances
has occurred with every site in St. Louis and yet if we are to believe the current landfill's paid-for
experts, and now even the EPA, somehow this is not possible with the uncontained West Lake
radwaste—for those tethered to common sense, a ridiculous assertion on its face. It appears
agencies like the EPA are doubling down on past mistakes and only want to dig deeper when
what the Federal Government should be digging is the radioactive material out of this
community.
Cotter Corporation’s unauthorized handling of its licensed material unquestionably broke the law
and violated AEC regulations. However, questions remain as to how complicit the Federal
Government was in the misconduct. As pointed out in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article by
Jacob Barker, the inheritor of Cotter’s liability for West Lake, Exelon Corporation, claims
nothing illegal happened.
“This whole thing [dumping of radwaste at West Lake] was done under the watchful eye of the
Atomic Energy Commission,” said Craig Nesbit, Vice-President of Communications for Exelon,
owner of infamous Three Mile Island and the largest operator of nuclear power plants in the
United States.
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Despite later damning inspection reports from the AEC and NRC stating the dumping was
unauthorized, Exelon seems unperturbed. “That’s 10 years after the fact,” explained Nesbit, “and
everything that was done was done with the full knowledge of the AEC. So I don’t know with
what validity an agency can come back later and say that wasn’t the right thing to do.”
The legal team representing Exelon may be relying on a legal concept similar to “laches,” which
is based on the maxim that ‘equity aids the vigilant and not those who slumber on their rights.’
The AEC and NRC failed to officially sanction or take action against Cotter and instead
terminated its license in 1974. This lapse in regulatory oversight or legal action by the Federal
Government is offered by Nesbit as evidence of Cotter’s compliance with the law.
There are also questions with regard to the propriety of the AEC auctioning byproduct material
and licensing it as “source material,” while explicitly stating up-front that it would not
repurchase any recovered material. It remains to be seen whether any of these lapses on behalf of
the Federal Government can be rectified 43 years later.
“Currently, the U.S. Department of Energy has subsumed
the Atomic Energy Commission, and if the law still stands,
is under order to retrieve the mishandled radiologically
contaminated material.”
It’s certainly plausible that the lack of oversight and bungled handling of the material was not
conspiratorial on the part of the AEC, only grossly incompetent and negligent. The new
revelation would also seem to suggest that the financial responsibility of cleaning-up West Lake
only resides with two parties—the U.S. Government and Cotter Corp. (Exelon). The EPA’s
Superfund legal apparatus listing three PRPs or “potentially responsible parties” all came after
the fact and theoretically could be challenged. This is because the U.S. Department of Energy
has subsumed the Atomic Energy Commission, and if the law still stands, is currently under
order to retrieve the mishandled radiologically contaminated material.
To read Part 1 of this series, click here.
To subscribe to this author's updates concerning the West Lake Landfill story, click here.
Various involved interest groups:
Just Moms STL: community action group nearly three years old. Has three
demands, 1. One mile residential buyout, approx 90 homes; 2. property value
protection, five miles; 3. West Lake Landfill transfered from EPA Superfund to St.
Louis-based, Army Corps of Engineers FUSRAP clean-up program. Co-leaders are Dawn
Chapman and Karen Nickel. They are admins for West Lake Community Facebook page
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with more than 18,000 members. Allies of Just Moms STL include Missouri Coalition
for the Environment (Ed Smith), Franciscan Sisters of Mary, Kay Drey, Dr. Helen
Caldicott, Lois Gibbs, Denise Brock (ombudsman NIOSH/CDC), Harvey Ferdman (State
Rep. Bill Otto's representative on this issue and founding member of group), St. Louis
County Council, St. Charles County Council, Pattonville School District, Pattonville Fire
Protection District, DePaul Hospital SSM, North County Incorporated, City of
Bridgeton, City of Black Jack, Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal (district includes the
West Lake Landfill), Representative Bill Otto (district includes the West Lake Landfill),
Representative Keith English, Byron DeLear State Rep candidate (district includes the
West Lake Landfill), in addition to many other supporting individuals and groups. There
are other elected officials at various levels of commitment and support including U.S.
Sens. McCaskill and Blunt, U.S. Reps. Clay and Wagner, and members of the St. Louis
County Council and County Executive Steve Stenger.
Exelon: They have assumed Cotter Corporation's liability with regard to the illegal
dumping that occured at West Lake in 1973. Largest nuke operator in US, owner of
Three Mile Island. They seem to want to limit liability and recently have begun to
suggest DOE liability should be expanded because there is more non-Cotter material at
West Lake. As an aside, the West Lake site has never been fully characterized in a grid.
Republic Services: current owner of both the Bridgeton Landfill which has the
underground fire, and the West Lake Landfill which has the radioactive material.
Second largest trash company U.S. Republic wants preservation of status quo, which for
them means a $15mm liability as their portion as a PRP of the EPA's Record of Decision
from 2008. The ROD has been opened back up and Republic has been fighting every
effort to expand scope of ROD, any attempt to transfer to FUSRAP, and any depiction of
the both sites mismanagement and threat as ongoing health hazard. They financed an
advocacy group called Coalition To Keep Us Safe, to basically support their attempts to
preserve the status quo/EPA ROD to cap the site. Some have suggested the Coalition to
Keep Us Safe is astroturf group. They fear monger that disturbing the material could be
disastrous despite the fact that the Army Corps of Engineers have successfully shipped
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more than 1.185 million cubic yards of radiologically contaminated materials out from
the other 100 contaminated sites in the region (Coldwater Water creek cases).
EPA Superfund, Region 7: The orphaned West Lake site was placed on NPL in 1990.
They have identified three PRPs under this Superfund authority, Exelon (Cotter
Corporation), DOE (inheritor of AEC and Manhattan Project liability), and Republic
Services (current landowner and inheritor of any liability from original landowner).
Recent discoveries with regard to AEA mandate to recall any mishandled distributed
materials seems to preempt the EPA Superfund framework because of the violations of
law that took place from 1962-1974 in regard to the erroneous licensing by the AEC of
the material, the AEC's failure to follow the law ordering the recall, and the AEC's
dereliction of duty by terminating the license without any inspection of Latty Avenue
site or any solution for illegal dumping at West Lake. As the NRC was being established,
West Lake was ignored and orphaned.
US Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis FUSRAP program: FUSRAP cleans up
Manhattan Project and AEC nuclear weapons related sites. They have cleaned up nearly
100 contaminated sites, main ones being the downtown Mallinckrodt sites where the
processing took place, the airport (SLAPS) site where around 133,000 tons of residues
and waste were stored, Latty Avenue site where the airport materials were sent to lay
out in the open and be dried and then shipped, Coldwater Creek which runs through
both airport and Latty Avenue, haul routes, and vicinity properties. They've removed
1.185 million cubic yards of material in specifically constructed rail cars to licensed outof-state disposal facilities. They should have primary clean-up role due to their
experience with MED/AEC nuclear weapons-related sites.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster: Currently suing Republic Services with
regard to underground landfill fire which has been burning for nearly six years. AG's
experts have shown offsite radioactive migration in nearby tree cores and groundwater.
AG's experts have said migrating fire could reach radwaste in as little as 3-6 months.
Koster has stated that the site is out of control and that Republic has poisoned its
30
neighbors. Republic has requested case be moved to Federal Court. Case supposed to go
to trial in March 2016. Koster is also the Democratic Candidate for Missouri Governor.
Other lawsuits: Various citizen class actions v. Republic, including Kirbi Pemberton
case. Mainly dealing with odors due to landfill fire which has adversely affected nearby
residents.
Legal Approach: I believe, due to latest discoveries, the primary liability is held by the
Federal Government (AEC/DOE), and Cotter (Exelon) with regard to the radioactive
contamination of the West Lake landfill.
Narratives:
How a six-figure deal from the 1960s blocked clean-up of radiotoxic site
http://www.examiner.com/article/how-a-six-figure-deal-from-the-1960s-blockedclean-up-of-radiotoxic-site
Pointing fingers: Exelon says feds knew radioactive waste was being
dumped at landfill http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/pointing-fingers-exelonsays-feds-knew-radioactive-waste-was-being/article_d41d1052-2d80-53e9-afc06d531c5cdbdf.html
Confused about Bridgeton, West Lake landfills? Here's what you should
know http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/confused-about-bridgeton-west-lakelandfills-heres-what-you-should-know
West Lake Landfill may be more contaminated than previously thought,
company says (contains story on bi-partisan letter to DOE)
http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/west-lake-landfill-may-be-morecontaminated-than-previously-thought/article_9bbbe6c5-7fa2-5272-9d448a81a3eb61a8.html
31
White Papers:
Bob Alvarez, Institute for Policy Studies: The West Lake Landfill: A Radioactive Legacy
of the Nuclear Arms Race
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhR2Z3RzRqd0tCXzg
Dr. Bob Criss, Washington University white paper: Risk and Character of Radioactive
Waste at the West Lake Landfill, Bridgeton, Missouri
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhTUVla0RkUXFOOEU
1996 St. Louis Remediation Task Force 237 page report on FUSRAP sites and West Lake
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhcmRXR2l2MS1TZlU
1988 NRC report on West Lake: Uranium Ore Processing Wastes in the West Lake
Landfill
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhb2pjalZReExMR1E
1984 University of Missouri report: Engineering Evaluation of Options for Disposition
of Radioactively Contaminated Residues Presently in the West Lake Landfill
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhR3N0UEp5WW1Fd3c
Top-Secret MED contracts with Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, May 12, 1945:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhQldFM3NWUlo3WWc
AEC 1 Nov 1974 Letter to Cotter inspection of Latty and violation of CFR with regard to
West Lake dumping:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhTl9GZkRscFlFRU0
1994 NRC inspection report Latty Avenue site:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhbGNVckx6cjFjSmM
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1976 NRC inspection report of Latty Avenue:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhWldpS041YUFtQjg
State of Missouri health report showing 300% increase childhood brain cancer in West
Lake zip code:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhbC00SUhLaFh6M28
EPA 2008 ROD, since then this has been opened back up: Record of Decision West Lake
Landfill Site Bridgeton, Missouri Operable Unit 1
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5avQvs7bIxhWTQ5dldTcGsybGc
Atomic Energy Act of 1946
PUBLIC LAW 585 -- 79TH CONGRESS
CHAPTER 724 -- 2D SESSION
S. 1717
(C) BYPRODUCT MATERIALS. -(1) DEFINITION. -- As used in this Act, the term "byproduct material" means any
radioactive material (except fissionable material) yielded in or made radioactive by
exposure to the radiation incident to the processes of producing or utilizing
fissionable material.
(2) DISTRIBUTION. -- The Commission is authorized to distribute, with or without
charge, byproduct materials to applicants seeking such materials for research or
development activity, medical therapy, industrial uses, or such other useful
applications as may be developed. In distributing such materials, the Commission
shall give preference to applicants proposing to use such materials in the conduct of
research and development activity or medical therapy. The Commission shall not
distribute any byproduct materials to any applicant, and shall recall any distributed
materials from any applicant, who is not equipped to observe or who fails to
observe such safety standards to protect health as may be established by the
Commission or who uses such materials in violation of law or regulation of the
Commission or in a manner other than as disclosed in the application therefor.
(d) GENERAL PROVISIONS. -- The Commission shall not -33
(1) distribute any fissionable material to (A) any person for a use which is not
under or within the jurisdiction of the United States, (B) any foreign government,
or (C) any person within the United States if, in the opinion of the Commission,
the distribution of such fissionable material to such person would be inimical to
the common defense and security.
(2) license any person to transfer or deliver, receive possession of or title to, or
export from the United States any source material if, in the opinion of the
Commission, the issuance of a license to such person for such purpose would be
inimical to the common defense and security.
This is 1954 version: “The Commission shall not permit the distribution of any byproduct
material to any licensee, and shall recall or order the recall of any distributed material from
any licensee, who is not equipped to observe or who fails to observe such safety standards to
protect health as may be established by the Commission or who uses such material in violation
of law or regulation of the Commission or in a manner other than as disclosed in the
application therefor or approved by the Commission. The Commission is authorized to
establish classes of byproduct material and to exempt certain classes or quantities of material
or kinds of uses or users from the requirements for a license set forth in this section when it
makes a finding that the exemption of such classes or quantities of such material or such kinds
of uses or users will not constitute an unreasonable risk to the common defense and security
and to the health and safety of the public.
Atomic Act 1954 The term "extraordinary nuclear occurrence" means any event causing a
discharge or dispersal of source, special nuclear, or byproduct material from its intended place of
confinement in amounts off-site, or causing radiation levels off-site, which the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission or the Secretary of Energy, as appropriate, determines to be substantial,
and which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the Secretary of Energy, as appropriate
determines has resulted or will probably result in substantial damages to persons off-site or
property offsite.
The 1954 Atomic Energy Act, as amended:
http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1327/ML13274A489.pdf
The term "byproduct material" means–
(1) any radioactive material (except special nuclear material) yielded in or made radioactive by
exposure to the radiation incident to the process of producing or utilizing special nuclear
material;
(2) the tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from
any ore processed primarily for its source material content;
Sec 81 C
“The Commission shall not permit the distribution of any byproduct material to any licensee, and
shall recall or order the recall of any distributed material from any licensee, who is not equipped
34
to observe or who fails to observe such safety standards to protect health as may be established
by the Commission or who uses such material in violation of law or regulation of the
Commission or in a manner other than as disclosed in the application therefor or approved by the
Commission.”
35
Major win for West Lake families: transfer
from EPA to Army Corps of Engineers
February 3, 2016 7:02 AM MST BYRON DELEAR
Many may not realize, but the original name for the Manhattan Project—the secret
government initiative during World War II to make to the first atomic weapons—was the
“Manhattan Engineering District.” The Army Corps of Engineers have been at the front
of the American nuclear-narrative since the beginning, and so has St. Louis. Yesterday,
the United States Senate began to reverse an injustice that has been foisted upon
north St. Louis County for 43 years by directing the Army Corps of Engineers to take the
lead in cleaning-up a huge cache of orphaned, radiotoxic Manhattan Project-nuclear
waste lying out in the open at theWest Lake Landfill.
36
Photo: Center for Health, Environment and Justice
Independent studies and investigations, including experts brought by Missouri
Attorney General Chris Koster, have shown radioactive substances have been
leaching offsite, contaminating the area, and most likely poisoning local residents.
Cancer clusters have presented in the area including a 300% increase in childhood
brain cancer in the surrounding zip code.
The EPA, which had folded the site into its Superfund program in 1990, has for decades
done virtually nothing to clean it up; and in many instances, has been shown to
minimize and misdirect efforts to call attention to the ongoing health hazard. Like
poisoned citizens from Flint, Michigan, the community many years ago lost faith in the
agency’s handling of the situation and began calling for transfer to the Army Corps of
Engineers 'FUSRAP' program, which has the capacity to execute removal of the
threatening material; or at the very least, permanent “entombment,” like what had
occurred at the Weldon Spring Ordnance Works in St. Charles County, Missouri.
“This plan isn’t a silver bullet, and will take far
longer than we’d like to resolve these issues—but
it’s a concrete, positive step forward. Now it’s up to
the U.S. House to take up this issue so that we can
get the legislation across the finish line.”—Sen.
Claire McCaskill (MO).
Last November, in a stunning exemplar of bipartisan collaboration, Sens. Roy Blunt
and Claire McCaskill were joined by Reps. Lacy Clay and Ann Wagner in sponsoring a
37
bill to direct the Army Corps of Engineers to become the lead agency at West Lake.
Yesterday, it passed the U.S. Senate.
“With the passage of this legislation today the Senate has demonstrated that the voices
of the community around West Lake Landfill are being heard,” stated Sen. Claire
McCaskill (MO). “This plan isn’t a silver bullet, and will take far longer than we’d like to
resolve these issues—but it’s a concrete, positive step forward. Now it’s up to the U.S.
House to take up this issue so that we can get the legislation across the finish line.”
“This is truly a testament to community action and
unity, and the ability for everyday mothers and
concerned citizens to really make a difference. We
should all be grateful to be living in a nation where
democratic action can actually translate into
something real and tangible.”—Dawn Chapman,
Just Moms STL
“The passage of this bill represents the first step toward the healing that this community
desperately needs,” commented Dawn Chapman, one of the leaders of the community
action group Just Moms STL. “We have so many people to thank, including Sens. Roy
Blunt and Claire McCaskill, for listening to the families that have been impacted by this
looming nuclear disaster hanging over our heads—but we want to specifically recognize
every single person that has pressed into this issue, made calls, attended meetings,
and worked tirelessly to expand awareness of our plight—this is truly a testament to
community action and unity, and the ability for everyday mothers and concerned
citizens to really make a difference. We should all be grateful to be living in a nation
where democratic action can actually translate into something real and tangible.”
The companion legislation in the House, H.R. 4100, will need to pass before the
President signs the transfer into law. Further, the bill passed today would not alter the
current liability of “potentially responsible parties” at the site nor its designation as a
Superfund site.
However, recently it has been revealed that the Federal Government may have more
liability with regard to the original erroneous licensing and handling of the more than
100,000 tons of nuclear byproduct material generated by Mallinckrodt Chemical Works
during its role as contractor for the Manhattan Engineering District and Atomic Energy
Commission. Specifically, the Atomic Energy Commission may have violated the law
with the original licensing structure of this waste and it also failed to act in recalling the
nuclear byproduct material once it had been mishandled. It’s important to note that
these potential violations of law on behalf of the Federal Government preceded the
existence of the EPA, Superfund, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and any
involvement by Republic Services, the current owner of the landfill.
It remains indisputable that the radioactive contamination of the region was caused by
the pivotal role St. Louis played in the national security equation of the United States,
38
and as such, it’s time for a grateful nation to offer rightful compensation. There are
many in the community, including the inimitable Kay Drey, that feel the United States
Government bears the sole responsibility for the site’s remediation and clean-up.
“We have sacrificed so much and we still have
work to do, but for now we will take this victory"—
Karen Nickel, Just Moms STL
In the meantime, the community is breathing a sigh of relief and elated at the outcome
of reaching the first step in its goals to protect the future of the entire St. Louis region.
They should be congratulated and thanked.
"This is a tremendous response to what this community needs and I congratulate our
Senators for their work," said State Representative Bill Otto, whose district includes the
radioactive site. "Now, we must press-on and ensure this gets through the [U.S.]
House."
“We have sacrificed so much and we still have work to do, but for now we will take this
victory,” said Karen Nickel, a lead organizer with Just Moms STL. “We ARE doing this
and I hope that this sends a very clear message that we really will go to the ends of the
Earth to protect our children!”
Dr. Helen Caldicott, an internationally recognized medical expert on the health impacts
of radiation, will be travelling to St. Louis to conduct a symposium called "The Atoms
Next Door," to be held on Saturday, February 20, 2016 at 6pm at the St. Louis
Community College-Wildwood campus. Caldicott will be speaking on the issue of the
West Lake Landfill and Coldwater Creek and will be joined by Denise Brock
(ombudsman for NIOSH), St. Louis County Councilmen Dr. Sam Page and Mark
Harder, nuclear policy expert Bob Alvarez, and other policy experts.
To subscribe to this author's updates concerning the West Lake Landfill story, click
here.
39
Part 2: Does existing law already order the
‘recall’ of radwaste at West Lake?
January 30, 2016 6:43 PM MST BYRON DELEAR
In Part 1 of this series, we laid out the history the how the Manhattan Project produced
over 125,000 tons of nuclear waste in St. Louis, Missouri which was stored out in the
open at several sites. Between 43,000-48,000 tons of this highly toxic, radioactive
material was illegally dumped at the West Lake Landfill. After 43 years of finger-pointing
and an endless train of studies and reports, the West Lake Landfill has yet to be
cleaned-up, but we may have finally found the “smoking gun” as to why it slipped
through the cracks. Bottom line? During a period of agency upheaval and a “changingof-the-guard” between the Atomic Energy Commission and Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, the Federal Government dropped the ball and didn’t follow the law.
40
Atomic Energy Commission / public domain
Since publishing Part 1 of this expose last November, calls have come in from the
General Counsel of the Department of Energy—the successor to the Atomic Energy
Commission—to discuss the legal ramifications. We have also received calls from a
number of legal experts, attorneys, and elected officials who are all investigating the
matter further.
The lynchpin here is a provision within the Atomic Energy Act which states that if any
nuclear byproduct material distributed by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) is used
in a manner which violates the law or presents an ongoing public health threat, the AEC
is directed to "recall" that material. This directive within the Atomic Energy Act—which is
still the standing law of the land—is similar to product recalls designed to address safety
issues and limit liability associated with any particular device which endangers the
public. In the case of the radwaste at West Lake, a triggered recall provision would
remove the threatening material.
“The Atomic Energy Act has these provisions in
place to protect the public. Although litigation to
coerce the Department of Energy to follow these
provisions is certainly possible, I would hope that
due to the present circumstances of the landfill fire,
the Federal Government would pursue a remedy
without delay.” — Diane Curran, Harmon, Curran,
Spielberg + Eisenberg, LLP
41
“The Atomic Energy Act has these provisions in place to protect the public,” said Diane
Curran, a leading attorney on a wide range of nuclear licensing and enforcement cases.
“Although litigation to coerce the Department of Energy to follow these provisions is
certainly possible, I would hope that due to the present circumstances of the landfill fire,
the Federal Government would pursue a remedy without delay.”
Digging down further into the weeds, it’s clear that even the licensing structure for this
nuclear waste may have violated the law. When the AEC auctioned off this material
for a buck-a-ton, they licensed it as “source material” when it really was “byproduct
material,” as defined by statute. In fact, virtually all of the waste and residues generated
by Mallinckrodt Chemical Works during WWII and the early Cold War years was nuclear
byproduct material.
Now the AEC may have accurately identified some of the substances sold as “source
material,” but the radwaste dumped at West Lake clearly was not. As defined by the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as amended) “byproduct material” means, among other
things, “the tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or
thorium from any ore processed primarily for its source material content.”
This is an exact description of the uranium processing that Mallinckrodt performed for
the U.S. nuclear weapons program; it is an exact description of the radioactive materials
stored at the airport site (SLAPS), and then later at Latty Avenue (HISS); and it is an
exact fit for what was dumped at West Lake. Here, it would seem, the legislative intent
is peremptory, meaning “without debate.”
Further, this brings into question the validity of the original licensing that the AEC
granted with regard to the nuclear waste stored at the St. Louis Airport and Latty
Avenue sites. Again, the licensing was for “source material,” which essentially is defined
as pure uranium and thorium; but the source material was embedded in a far larger
contingent of highly radiotoxic byproduct material, “raffinate,” or nuclear waste. This is
where the pertinent Atomic Energy Act provisions to protect the public’s safety and
national security should have kicked in—but they didn’t. It was as if the AEC wanted to
get rid of all the material in one fell swoop, outsourcing federal responsibilities,
pretending the waste wasn’t even there. In erroneously granting source material
licenses for byproduct material, the Federal Government offloaded tens of thousands of
tons of radioactive waste and, in essence, erased it from their balance sheet.
The fact that West Lake radwaste is byproduct material has even been recognized by
the Federal Government.
In an EPA Administrative Order from 1993, the “Findings of Fact” state: “In 1966, the
Atomic Energy Commission ("AEC") sold 8,700 tons of leached barium sulfate, together
with other radioactive residues, to Continental Mining and Milling company ("Continental
Mining"). The radioactive residues were generated as by-products of uranium
processing performed by the AEC's contractor. These processing residues were stored
at the AEC's St. Louis Airport Storage Site ("SLAPSS").”
42
“It appears agencies like the EPA are doubling
down on past mistakes and only want to dig deeper
when what the Federal Government should be
digging is the radioactive material out of this
community.”
After the dumping at West Lake occurred, which included Latty Avenue "topsoil," tests
of Latty Avenue revealed, “thorium and radium contamination in excess of federal
guidelines was found in and around the buildings and in the soil to depths of 18 inches.”
This leads to the conclusion that the 39,000 tons of Latty Ave topsoil was actually an
unholy concoction of contaminants associated with pretty much everything that had sat
out in the open at the site—Belgian Congo Pitchblende Raffinate, Radium Bearing
Residues, Colorado Raffinate, etc. Raffinate is what’s left over after the uranium has
been chemically extracted—again, an exact match for what’s defined as “byproduct
material” in the Atomic Energy Act.
These various forms of radwaste also contaminated Coldwater Creek which acted as a
mode of transport throughout north St. Louis County. Latty Avenue was included in the
St. Louis-based Army Corps of Engineers FUSRAP clean-up program and you can read
here about how numerous adjacent properties, haul routes, local parks, churches, and
even people's backyards were contaminated and included in the clean-up. This messy
migration of radioactive substances has occurred with every site in St. Louis and yet if
we are to believe the current landfill's paid-for experts, and now even the EPA,
somehow this is not possible with the uncontained West Lake radwaste—for those
tethered to common sense, a ridiculous assertion on its face. It appears agencies like
the EPA are doubling down on past mistakes and only want to dig deeper when what
the Federal Government should be digging is the radioactive material out of this
community.
Cotter Corporation’s unauthorized handling of its licensed material unquestionably
broke the law and violated AEC regulations. However, questions remain as to how
complicit the Federal Government was in the misconduct. As pointed out in a St. Louis
Post-Dispatch article by Jacob Barker, the inheritor of Cotter’s liability for West Lake,
Exelon Corporation, claims nothing illegal happened.
“This whole thing [dumping of radwaste at West Lake] was done under the watchful eye
of the Atomic Energy Commission,” said Craig Nesbit, Vice-President of
Communications for Exelon, owner of infamous Three Mile Island and the largest
operator of nuclear power plants in the United States.
Despite later damning inspection reports from the AEC and NRC stating the dumping
was unauthorized, Exelon seems unperturbed. “That’s 10 years after the fact,”
explained Nesbit, “and everything that was done was done with the full knowledge of
the AEC. So I don’t know with what validity an agency can come back later and say that
wasn’t the right thing to do.”
43
The legal team representing Exelon may be relying on a legal concept similar to
“laches,” which is based on the maxim that ‘equity aids the vigilant and not those who
slumber on their rights.’ The AEC and NRC failed to officially sanction or take action
against Cotter and instead terminated its license in 1974. This lapse in regulatory
oversight or legal action by the Federal Government is offered by Nesbit as evidence of
Cotter’s compliance with the law.
There are also questions with regard to the propriety of the AEC auctioning byproduct
material and licensing it as “source material,” while explicitly stating up-front that it
would not repurchase any recovered material. It remains to be seen whether any of
these lapses on behalf of the Federal Government can be rectified 43 years later.
“Currently, the U.S. Department of Energy has
subsumed the Atomic Energy Commission, and if
the law still stands, is under order to retrieve the
mishandled radiologically contaminated material.”
It’s certainly plausible that the lack of oversight and bungled handling of the material
was not conspiratorial on the part of the AEC, only grossly incompetent and negligent.
The new revelation would also seem to suggest that the financial responsibility of
cleaning-up West Lake only resides with two parties—the U.S. Government and Cotter
Corp. (Exelon). The EPA’s Superfund legal apparatus listing three PRPs or “potentially
responsible parties” all came after the fact and theoretically could be challenged. This is
because the U.S. Department of Energy has subsumed the Atomic Energy
Commission, and if the law still stands, is currently under order to retrieve the
mishandled radiologically contaminated material.
To read Part 1 of this series, click here.
To subscribe to this author's updates concerning the West Lake Landfill story, click
here.
44
Nuclear Hotseat interview with Byron DeLear
January 16, 2016
Host: Libbe HaLevy
Libbe HaLevy: Byron DeLear was an interview guest on Nuclear Hotseat #228, and he was so terrific in
bringing us to an understanding of the political situation that is taking place there, that we decided to
have him back for an update. Byron DeLear lives near the West Lake Landfill and has been involved in
clean energy issues as Chairman and CEO of Energy Equity Funding. He is a columnist with
Examiner.com, where he writes on nuclear issues, was founder of Global Peace solution and is currently
running for State Representative. We spoke about the latest developments on-site at West Lake, as well
as more on the politics behind this “nuclear hot potato”. Note that when Byron speaks about the Atomic
Energy Commission, this is a reference to the agency that in 1977 was turned into the Department of
Energy, under then-President Jimmy Carter. Byron DeLear, welcome back to Nuclear Hotseat.
Byron DeLear: Libbe, thank you so much for having me. I enjoy your program immensely and you’re
doing a great service for drilling down with greater detail into these issues, which we don’t normally see
in the mainstream media.
LH: Well, let’s get started and do that right now. There’s been a lot happening in connection with the
West Lake Landfill. And we’re going to range over a number of different topics. But one thing that’s
uppermost in my mind right now, is that in late December, a peer-reviewed study on radioactive
contamination of St. Louis County by the West Lake Landfill was published in the Journal of
Environmental Radioactivity. Byron, how has this report been received by the activists, and also the
political powers who are involved with both the people in the area and also with Republic Services?
BD: There’s been quite a lot of anticipation with regard to this report. It’s been in the works for a couple
of years. One of the chief authors of the report, Bob Alvarez, is a nuclear policy expert from Washington
D.C. The other two authors are Marco Kaltofen and Lucas Hixson. The report is, like you mentioned,
peer-reviewed, it is scientific evidence – it is independent evidence – that there is significant radiological
contamination from the West Lake Landfill that is moving offsite. What’s key here is that some of the
agencies, for example, the EPA, don’t necessarily want to admit that the presence of this radioactive
material is that much of a threat to the community. In fact, in a public hearing in October, Mark Hague,
who is the Regional Director of the EPA, was asked if there had been any radiological contamination
moving offsite, and he said, “We don’t really have evidence of that”— that may technically be true—but
45
the problem is, is that the EPA is not doing comprehensive testing offsite of soil; and basically, if they
don’t look for it, they don’t see it… and, I gotta tell you, I guess you could do this for a number of years,
but this community has been suffering from the presence of this radioactive material for, now, over 40
years, and people are desperate for a solution. There is a severe impact on local residents here, cancer
clusters, sicknesses, illnesses— and I know that you’ve covered this a number of times with a number of
your guests—but, needless to say, this report that has come out is only confirming a building consensus
amongst independent expert observers that, indeed, the material that has been illegally dumped at
West Lake is threatening the community and most likely poisoning folks.
LH: The report confirms that radiologically contaminated material at west Lake has been leaching offsite,
and has been doing so, polluting the environment, for years, and most likely poisoning the nearby
residents, as the recent survey that was put together by the Coldwater Creek group can attest. Let’s look
at the EPA for a moment. How long has EPA had any kind of mandate over this site, and what have or
have not been their actions?
BD: The EPA declared the West Lake Landfill a Superfund site in 1990 —and just to kind of delve into the
history here —43,000 to 48,000 tons of radiologically contaminated material that’s been dumped at
West Lake came from the Manhattan Project during World War II. St. Louis played an extremely pivotal
role in the Manhattan Project in developing the first working atomic weapons. In essence, the
“foundation stones” of nuclear weaponry itself were laid here in St. Louis and it generated hundreds of
thousands of tons of nuclear waste byproducts, which have been, sadly, polluting the north county area.
There are over 100 contaminated sites. All of those sites have been put under the pertinent federal
clean-up program, which is by the Army Corps of Engineers, called FUSRAP, except for the West Lake
Landfill.
LH: Why is it that West Lake is not under the FUSRAP program?
BD: It’s a pretty convoluted and complex, sordid tale to be sure. Essentially, what happened is, the
Atomic Energy Commission, in 1962, auctioned off 125,000 tons of this material from the world’s first
nuclear waste dump, essentially, which was at the St. Louis Airport Site, and they sold it for a buck-a-ton,
and they sold it to a small private operator called Contemporary Metals, and then there was this kind of
period of nuclear “hot potato” which we covered in our earlier interview, Libbe, in which this material
was exchanged from one small private entity to another private entity; and this entire time, the Atomic
energy Commission is re-issuing licenses to these different entities. Eventually, Cotter Corporation
acquired the materials and they sent much of the material to their processing plant in Canon City,
Colorado. However, there was a significant amount still in St. Louis and they tried to find a disposal site
that would take the material in, they got rejected numerous times, and eventually they decided to
illegally dump it at the West Lake Landfill—which is a site that has not been designed to hold radioactive
material. It is an unlined, municipal landfill. This material is uncontained. It’s sitting on the surface. It is
polluting the groundwater. It is only a mile away from the Missouri River, which is upstream from
municipal water intakes. So, you can see that this is a very harrowing, threatening situation. And what’s
particularly interesting, Libbe, is when you start to delve into the primary source record, you find that
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there is potentially this agenda within the Atomic Energy Commission to sort of “off-load” the liability
for this material off of their balance sheet. And there’s kind of a trail of evidence, that when you connect
the dots between all these different events and motivations, it becomes very clear that the Federal
Government is attempting to shirk its responsibility to ensure that the health threats associated with the
nuclear weapons program… you know, that they don’t want to be responsible for those health threats.
And this is what’s particularly criminal, in my mind— and when I say criminal, I mean violations of law.
Because the licensing of this material is very dubious. They sold this material—which was nuclear
“byproduct material,” as defined in the Atomic Energy Act—they sold this material and licensed it as
“source material,” and it’s not source material. It is byproduct material. And there are specific
protections designed within the Atomic Energy Act itself, in the event that any byproduct material is
mishandled, or used in a way that’s a violation of law, or used in a way that’s beyond the scope of the
license, the Atomic Energy Commission is instructed explicitly by the law to recall that material. And so it
becomes very interesting when you start to focus in on some of these issues of liability. What we’re
facing now, is most likely, a $400 million dollar clean-up tab. Ultimately, because the nuclear weapons
program was designed to defend the national security of the United States, the folks that are suffering
nearby the West Lake Landfill are suffering due to the defense of our nation; in essence, they are like
heroes left behind enemy lines and the Federal Government has a responsibility to step in to make this
community whole again.
LH: When you say $400 million to clean this up, is that just the West Lake site and the contamination
that it has created, or is it all of the sites in the Greater St. Louis area?
BD: That’s just the West Lake site, and this scope of work has not been defined literally. There have
been some estimates that have been posited, and that is one of the estimates. That would involve
removing this threatening material from the center of a county, a densely populated county of a million
people, removing this material, removing the threat, and putting it in a licensed disposal facility away
from water sources and away from population centers.
LH: And that’s the Holy Grail, because we really don’t have anything like that. The only way that the
waste control specialists down in Texas, for example, gets away with qualifying for the waste is that they
have the maps redrawn as to where Ogallala Aquifer existed. The early maps showed them virtually on
top of the Aquifer, and then, later maps — and there was a lot of manipulation around this — showed it
as being at some distance so that they qualified for taking in more waste. There really is no place for this
to go. But it can’t stay where it is now.
BD: There’s even more reasons why the fantasy that this material can remain in situ in a safe capacity,
whether they put a cap on it, or whatever half-measures have been suggested—it is a complete fantasy,
because the radioactivity of this landfill is only going to increase by orders of magnitude, moving
forward. That’s called “ingrowth.” That’s a kind of a technical term, a scientific term. But it refers to
increasing levels of radioactivity, due to the thorium, the uranium, the radium, that has been discovered
that is dumped at the West Lake Landfill.
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LH: In other words, as these materials break down, they will be releasing greater and greater quantities
of radioactivity into the general environment.
BD: Correct. And one of the things that was illuminated in this peer reviewed study — and this is kind of,
sort of a “low-hanging fruit” with regard to proving that there is offsite radiological contamination —
and that’s in the form of radon gas that has escaped the landfill, because what happens is uraniumthorium-radium has a decay series, and there’s a series of elements that it breaks down to over a series
of years. One of the elements that uranium breaks down to, radium breaks down to, thorium breaks
down to is radon gas, which has a half-life of 3.8 days, but during that time, it can move miles offsite.
And then, a few other elements down the chain, after that 3.8 day period, is lead-210. Lead-210 is
radioactive. It’s a highly toxic material. It is a heavy metal. In fact, radon gas is the second leading cause
of lung cancer, and of course, much of it is naturally occurring, but, the point of the community is that
when you have an artificial source of radioactivity that is manmade, clearly that becomes a greater
health threat than what is naturally occurring. That’s why it is so necessary to remove this material so
that the threat is reduced by orders of magnitude. What the study’s authors discovered in looking at 300
samples taken all around the landfill, and also around some of the other legacy sites, including the Latty
Avenue site, which is also called the Hazelwood Interim Storage Site and the St. Louis Airport Site, and
also the Downtown Mallinckrodt Chemical Works Site – what they discovered is that there was an
inordinate amount of Lead-210 in these samples, and when they compared the Lead-210 to the other
elements, the other members of the decay chain, they found that it was out of equilibrium, meaning it
was out of balance, which means that the radon gas that eventually turned into Lead-210 originated
from the West Lake Landfill.
LH: This is, of course, all extremely horrifying information. And in terms of the contamination, it may
have been made worse by the recent severe flooding in St. Louis. There were even several videos that I
saw — I believe you took one of them —of water that was rushing downward off the west Lake site,
during the storms and immediately thereafter, that seem to be emanating from the area where we
know that the radioactive material was buried.
BD: Representative Bill Otto, whose district is where the West Lake Landfill and Bridgeton Landfill are
located, he took some videos, and I took a video, of a location where you could clearly see that storm
rainwater run-off was coming from the designated radioactive areas. You can see the radioactive signs
on the chain-link fence, and the water was just rushing off of the hill, going into troughs, that then fed
the Missouri River. So, Bill asked the question: “How can anyone make the argument that radiological
material is not moving off-site?”—when you see the floodwaters moving directly off of the radioactive
site, where the area is, where the radioactive material is, and that material is on the surface in this area.
LH: Given that it’s so obvious that radioactive material was most likely being flooded off of the top of
the West Lake site, what does the EPA say about this run-off water and on what do they base that
pronouncement?
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BD: Well, there seems to be a pattern of behavior where the agencies want to minimize any perceived
threat. They want to obfuscate the issue. In the case of this specific instance, the EPA spokeswoman
said, “Oh no, that water isn’t coming from the West Lake Landfill. That water is coming from the
Bridgeton Landfill.” If you look on a Google map, the Bridgeton landfill is over 800-feet away from where
we were filming. So, it just doesn’t hold water.
LH: [laughter]
BD: ... to make a pun. It’s really sad, Libbe, that you have a federal agency that ostensibly is designed to
protect the public against health threats, against toxicological hazards, you have this agency that just
seems completely, utterly tone-deaf with regard to how they are dealing with the West Lake Landfill.
That’s why the public, and the Just Moms STL group, and different community activists, have been so
outspoken on this because the situation is so dire that we’re not getting any action on this—for four
decades we have not gotten any action on this. Senator Claire McCaskill and Senator Roy Blunt, in a bipartisan fit of rare cooperation, introduced legislation a couple of months ago to strip the jurisdiction of
the West Lake Landfill away from the EPA and to grant it to the Army Corps of Engineers which has the
capacity to execute the removal of this waste. The Army Corps of Engineers, they have been a part of
this narrative, the Manhattan Project, from the beginning. You may recall that the official name for the
Manhattan Project was actually the “Manhattan Engineering District.” The Army Corps of Engineers has
been at the front end of this narrative. They have the expertise, and more importantly, they have a
more pointed ability to handle the issues of liability, with regard to the removal of this waste.
LH: So, legislation has been proposed. It sounds like the Army Corps of Engineers, their FUSRAP
program, is the right one to handle this, because they have the experience, they have the history of
dealing with it. How is that legislation going? And where’s the support? And what, if any, pushback is
there?
BD: There have been two bills that have been introduced. One in the Senate, which is Senate Bill 2306;
and in the House of Representatives, by Representative Lacy Clay and Representative Ann Wagner, also
a bipartisan effort, that’s House Resolution 4100. There has been an attempt to shut down this
legislation by the landfill operator, the landfill owner, which is Republic Services; and they have been
trying to finance citizen groups, or some refer to them as “astroturf groups” because they are really
forwarding a corporate agenda to protect the status quo and to do nothing with the site. That’s the
corporate agenda in this case. They have been trying to characterize the removal of this waste as being
an even greater threat than leaving it there. They’re talking to folks in rural Missouri and out-state
Missouri and they’re saying, you know: “Do you want radioactive material to come through your
community?”—and they are trying to stir up this opposition, which is sort of synthetic and fake, because
the bottom line is the Army Corps of Engineers, as I mentioned earlier, they have already removed over
1.2 million cubic yards which is more than 1,200,000 tons of this material has been safely removed from
North County, from the other FUSRAP sites, the other Army Corps sites. And that material is put in
specially constructed rail cars, and it’s shipped away from the State of Missouri. So, for Republic Services
to be financing efforts to say that this is going to be a massive threat if we actually clean-up the area to
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make it safe for the local families and local residents that live near here—for them to say that that’s
going to be an even bigger problem, just doesn’t pass the straight face test.
LH: How is Republic hurt if FUSRAP comes in? I mean, what could possibly be their objection to the sane
and relatively safe, though this stuff is never safe, but the relatively safer handling that FUSRAP can
provide when EPA is basically been going b’dee b’dee b’dee for years, for decades now?
BD: Republic Services is the second largest trash hauler in the United States. Bill Gates is a significant
shareholder. It is a large conglomerate corporation, and I think that they are probably erring towards
the side of predictability and stability, in regard to their preservation of the status quo. Right next to the
landfill is a large trash transfer station where all the Republic Services trash trucks come, and then they
consolidate the trash into larger trucks that then go to the landfills. So, there’s perhaps a perception
that the unknown aspects of what is really dumped at the West Lake Landfill — because mind you, the
West Lake Landfill has never been fully characterized in a grid-like manner. That is another one of the
criticisms that the community is levelling at the EPA. Because, like I mentioned earlier, the EPA doesn’t
know about offsite radiological contamination, because they don’t even look for it, really, in a
comprehensive way.
LH: That’s the perfect way for them to have deniability. “Well, we didn’t find anything.” They didn’t
bother to say that they’re not looking for anything.
BD: And it’s a sad day when citizen groups need to amplify the realities that we’re facing, the sicknesses,
the illnesses, the cancer clusters, and do all this discovery and all these efforts on our own, with
independent, peer-reviewed scientific analysis. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has mounted an
investigation and several months ago his experts released evidence of radiological contamination in
offsite tree-core samples and also radiological contamination of groundwater. So, it’s sad that you have
this kind of cross-jurisdictional “nuclear Gordian Knot,” if you will, where everything is in a state of
administerial paralysis, and at the end of the day, it’s mothers who have lost their daughters due to
brain cancer that are suffering. So there is a real trail of tears that is in the wake of the original sin of this
nuclear waste that’s been orphaned in the heart of St. Louis County.
LH: That was very beautifully put. Where is the local media on this? And how aware, in general, are the
people of St. Louis, of this massive problem that exists right smackup against their city?
BD: A few years ago, some would refer to St. Louis’s role in the Manhattan Project as a “best-kept”
secret. However, because there’s this encroaching landfill fire, which we haven’t mentioned yet—
there’s a landfill that’s right next to the radioactive waste that has had what is referred euphemistically
as a “sub-surface smoldering event…”
LH: [laughter]
BD: But it’s really…
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LH: I love bureaucratic language.
BD: That’s some techno-speak, isn’t it? You know, so this fire has been burning for nearly six years and
they are just letting it burn. Like I mentioned earlier, Attorney General Chris Koster, his experts have
shown evidence that the fire is moving closer to the radioactive waste, and it is about a thousand feet
away. St. Louis County released emergency plans preparing for a radiological “plume” to be emitted
from the landfill, should the fire meet the radioactive waste. And so, because of the imminence of the
chance of, like, a dirty bomb essentially going off in the St. Louis region, this issue has been propelled
into the national mainstream media and even international news. So, the media here is really paying
attention to this issue. Sadly, it’s kind of a stand-off between a corporate financed agenda with regard to
their talking points on the site—that the site poses no threat, that we don’t want to touch the stuff
because if you touch it, then it’s going to be an even bigger threat, and that there’s no radiological
contamination moving offsite—these are the talking points of the corporate side of things, and even the
EPA sometimes, sadly. Then, on the other hand, you have these independent experts, like this recent
peer-reviewed paper, that are showing that indeed this is an ongoing threat, that the radiological
contamination is moving offsite, and that you have the Attorney General’s experts confirming that. So
you have these two competing narratives and such is the case with politics, right? But I have to say that
— and I have expressed this to the different groups when I have had the chance to talk with folks — it’s
a righteous cause to be calling attention to the fact that there are cancer clusters that are emerging, that
are presenting in this community. The State of Missouri did an extremely narrow study of the zip code
right around the landfill and discovered a 300% increase in childhood brain cancer; and that was an
extremely narrow study that didn’t even account for folks that moved away, etc. So, you have these
illnesses and auto-immune diseases that are emerging, and you have property values that are
plummeting, and so, the community has called for the removal of the waste. They have said that we
need to have a one-mile buyout of nearby residents, which is about 90 homes. And then we need
property protection for the different businesses and residences that are in the region, so that they’re
not negatively impacted by, really, a liability that the entire United States of America should shoulder
because, like I mentioned, this radiological contamination is there due to the defense of our nation. The
Manhattan Project and early Cold War years is what’s generated the hundreds of thousands of tons of
nuclear waste byproducts. We spend a ton of money on our defense industry and if we cannot clean up
the mess created by the very first atomic weapons development, then what mess can we clean up?
LH: What can those of us who are listening to this narrative do to support the moms, the citizens, the ill
people, the ones who live within one-mile? What can we do to help support the people of north St.
Louis and beyond?
BD: Well, first of all, you can join the Facebook page “West Lake Landfill,” because that operates as kind
of a central repository of all these studies, and all these news stories and all this information that’s
coming out. The next thing you can do is call your local senator or representative and ask them to
support Senate Bill 2306, ask them to support House Resolution 4100, which would transfer jurisdiction
of the West Lake cleanup to the Army Corps of Engineers. These are immediate calls to action that folks
can do.
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(Libbe Halevy Note: At this point, I figured the interview was pretty much over except for some boiler
plate at the end. But, as so often happens, our conversation veered off into a direction so informative
that I would be remiss if I did not include it.)
Byron DeLear: Libbe, I find it just unconscionable that the federal agencies like the EPA or the Army
Corps of Engineers or the Department of Energy, they treat the exact same wastes that are located in
different parts of the country—they have different standards of clean-up depending on where you are in
the country— and it is significant, the different standards of clean-up. This is a form of territorial
discrimination. This is a form of environmental injustice that violates the civil rights of the folks that are
not afforded the same level of clean-up. St. Louis is one of those areas that is not afforded the same
level of clean-up. For example, in 1983, there was an article that came out, which talked about nuclear
byproduct wastes that were stored in Fernald, Ohio. Now those wastes had come from Mallinckrodt
Chemical Works. They were stored at the airport site, which I’ve mentioned earlier, and then they were
shipped to Fernald, Ohio, for storage. Those wastes had some radium in it. At an earlier date, they were
perceived to have some economic value. So the Belgian mining interests that had sold the Belgian Congo
Pitchblende—which was the most pure form of uranium, a freak of nature, this is ultimately what led to
the success of the Manhattan Project—this pure form of uranium came to the United States, and the
Belgian mining interests said: “OK, you can have the uranium in there, but we want to retain ownership
of some of the other materials in there, in case, at a later date, we want to go get it.” So they were
storing it up in Ohio and the Reagan Administration, in 1983, they said: “OK, we will assume liability for
this material, and clean it up, but only if you allow us to place nuclear cruise missiles in Belgium.” You
have this really dirty business dealing going on with cruise missiles being placed in Europe, and then all
of a sudden, then, of course, the clean-up can take place…but Libbe, it even gets worse, because this is
where the territorial discrimination comes into play. In the agreement to clean-up those wastes in
Fernald, Ohio, they say that they will either “entomb” the waste, which means full encapsulation in a
disposal cell, or they will remove the wastes from the site so that it no longer threatens that community.
In St. Louis, we don’t get that. We don’t get the perspective that says that we cannot allow tens of
thousands of tons of highly radiotoxic material to lie in situ in the heart of a county of a million people—
this is actually considered to be…. “well, maybe it’s palatable,” maybe we can leave this material in the
West Lake Landfill and just put a cap over it, which is what the EPA was trying to suggest in their Record
of Decision in 2008. I just find this actually shocking. Even the EPA spokeswoman recently said that the
same wastes in different parts of the country have entirely different clean-up standards. How does that
make any sense? How does that make any sense when you have actual people suffering due to
sicknesses, disease, and death, because of the presence of this material. It is not right. It is not correct.
And that’s why this issue has been propelled into the national spotlight. Because we are going to see this
material removed. I have made this a pledge in my campaign for State Representative. I’m running for
State Representative in the district where these landfills reside. And I have made a pledge that I will
work tirelessly until we make this community whole again, by protecting this community and removing
that waste.
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LH: And if you were in a position where you could wave a magic wand or an executive order and take
action to make certain that this would happen, what would you want to see happen? What would you
do?
BD: There have been calls to the White House. In fact, I have spoken to the White House legal team
about this. I have a friend and colleague who is the General Counsel to Executive Office of the President,
and the President is very much aware of the West Lake Landfill. In fact, recently a local progressive hero
in our community, Rabbi Susan Talve, was lighting a Menorah at the White House and she mentioned
the moms that are working to clean-up the West Lake Landfill, in the White House. If I could wave a
magic wand, I would transfer the site to the Army Corps of Engineers, which is what Senate Bill 2306
does and what House Resolution 4100 does. And I would ensure that there would be property
protection for the plummeting property values for businesses and residents in a 5-mile radius. And I
would do a buyout of the 90 or so homes in the mile radius. And I would remove this material. It would
act as a huge economic stimulus for this community. I mean, St. Louis deserves this recompense. St.
Louis deserves the protection that the Federal Government promised Mallinckrodt in the original secret
contracts for the Manhattan Project. The Federal Government said that they would assume the liability
for any health threats associated with the process of generating and purifying this uranium for the
Manhattan Project. Those promises need to follow through. Like I mentioned in our first interview,
Libbe, the Atomic Energy Commission that sold this material, 125,000 tons of it for a buck-a-ton, that
that was a violation of law; when they called it “source material,” to bypass the protection provisions
within the Atomic Energy Act, that was a violation of law; and those aspects need to be brought to light,
so that the Federal Government will only have one course of action available to them, which is making
this community whole again, and protecting this community. That’s the only thing left for them to do.
Sadly, sometimes in democracy, you have to eliminate all the other games of distraction that are going
on by corporate interests—by agencies that just want to kick the can down the road—you have to
eliminate all those different options so that there’s only one singular course left, which is a light at the
end of the tunnel, which shows this community being made healthy and that health threat being
removed from St. Louis County, from Bridgeton, Missouri.
LH: From your mouth to somebody’s ears. Byron, thank you again for an extremely articulate and
passionate telling of the story of what’s going on, including all of the political details you were able to
include. And know that Nuclear Hotseat’s going to stay on this story. We will continue to report what’s
going on. I consider you a valuable source. And for now, thank you so much for being my guest again this
week on Nuclear Hotseat.
BD: Thank you, Libbe.
LH: That was Byron DeLear. Byron’s earlier Nuclear Hotseat interview ran in episode #228. Other
programs which featured West Lake interviews include #230, #232, and our full length special #227, 20
which is where I spoke with Dr. Helen Caldicott on the health issues, former White House nuclear
advisor Bob Alvarez on the history of the site, and West Lake Landfill Facebook Administrator Dawn
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Chapman. Be sure to check those episodes out. The Nuclear Hotseat archives can be accessed at:
www.NuclearHotseat.com
54
New study shows vast offsite radioactive
contamination from West Lake Landfill
December 30, 2015 11:46 AM MST BYRON DELEAR
Today, a new peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Environmental
Radioactivity concludes there is “strong evidence” that radioactive substances are in a
constant state of offsite migration from the West Lake Landfill. Specifically, numerous
soil, dust, and sediment samples were taken from areas surrounding the landfill which
show inordinate levels of Lead-210, a decay product of uranium, thorium, and radium.
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Bill Otto
“The stuff we're talking about at West Lake is hotter than what you would find in a
typical uranium mill tailings operation,” stated nuclear policy expert Bob Alvarez in an
interview on Tuesday. Alvarez, one of the report’s authors, has written extensively on
West Lake including a 2013 report which concluded that “the largest estimated amount
of Thorium-230, a long-lived, highly radiotoxic element, is present at West Lake - more
than any other U.S. nuclear weapons storage or disposal site.”
Located in north St. Louis County, the West Lake Landfill is made-up of tens of
thousands of tons of nuclear weapons-related waste stemming from the top-secret
Manhattan Project during World War II. The new report adds to a growing consensus
among independent experts that despite biased statements to the contrary radiologically
contaminated material at West Lake is leaching offsite, polluting the environment, and
most likely poisoning nearby residents.
"Despite biased statements to the contrary,
radiologically contaminated material at West Lake
is leaching offsite, polluting the environment, and
most likely poisoning nearby residents."
In fact, earlier this week, several videos and stills were posted on the West Lake
Landfill Facebook page showing active streams of storm-runoff water emanating from
designated radioactive areas. When examining the West Lake runoff, State
Representative Bill Otto asked: “How could anyone make the argument that RIM
(Radiologically Impacted Material) is not leaving the site?” In the videos, the runoff is
56
clearly shown to be pooling offsite, flowing into drainage troughs, and ultimately, feeding
the Missouri river which is upstream from municipal water intakes.
As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, EPA spokeswoman, Angela Brees,
shockingly claimed the rainwater “came from within the Bridgeton Landfill”— a location
at least 800 feet away from what was filmed. Sadly, local residents have come to expect
this sort of obfuscation from the EPA, if not total misrepresentation with regard to the
threat posed by the presence of tens of thousands of tons of uncontained nuclear waste
in a densely populated area of St. Louis County.
"To date, a complete inventory of the radiological
materials dumped at West Lake has not been fully
characterized."—Journal of Environmental
Radioactivity
For example, when queried at a public hearing in October about radioactive material
moving into surrounding neighborhoods, EPA regional director Mark Hague said they
have “no evidence” that contamination had occurred offsite—which may be technically
true—but only because the EPA has neglected to conduct comprehensive offsite testing
of soil samples or even perform a thorough and comprehensive grid-like test of the
radiological contamination at either the Bridgeton or West Lake landfills.
The Bridgeton Landfill, which lies adjacent to West Lake, has had anunderground fire
burning for nearly six years; and if radwaste from West Lake has migrated to
Bridgeton, dangerous materials may have already been burned and toxic fumes
released into the community. To date, a complete inventory of the radiological materials
dumped at West Lake has not been fully characterized. The new independent study
released today—“Tracking legacy radionuclides in St. Louis, Missouri, via unsupported
210Pb [Lead-210]”—seeks to fill in some of the empirical gaps left by what many local
residents consider to be an agency largely shown to be missing on the job.
The basic theory is as follows. As stated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and
other agency reports, the West Lake Landfill is known to emit radon gas due to the
presence of uranium, thorium, radium and other radioactive progeny in the uranium
decay series. Radon gas is emanated by the landfill, moves offsite, and then decays
into Lead-210, a solid particulate. The authors sought to measure Lead-210 in nearly
300 samples taken around the landfills but also included sampling from other
contaminated sites in the region, such as Coldwater Creek, the airport site (SLAPS),
Latty Ave (HISS), and even the downtown Mallinckrodt plant location where the uranium
was originally processed from 1942 until the late 1950s. To determine whether the
Lead-210 from the samples was either naturally occurring or the fingerprint of nuclear
waste byproducts, the authors examined the associated concentrations of other
members of the uranium decay chain in each sample.
"There is strong evidence that the Lead-210
originated by decay of short-lived, fugitive radon
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gas that escaped the landfill."—Tracking legacy
radionuclides in St. Louis, Missouri, via
unsupported 210Pb by Marco Kaltofen, Robert
Alvarez, and Lucas Hixson, Journal of
Environmental Radioactivity
Of the 287 samples, 48% were shown to have Lead-210 “concentrations above the
risk-based soil cleanup limits for residential farming established by the U.S. Department
of Energy at the Fernald, OH, uranium plant, which handled and stored the same
concentrated Manhattan Project-era wastes.” Further, as the authors explain, because
the Lead-210 found was not in equilibrium with the other members of the decay series,
“this is strong evidence that the Lead-210 originated by decay of short-lived, fugitive
radon gas that escaped the landfill.” Translation? Dangerous radioactive material has
been moving offsite from West Lake for 42 years.
It's important to recognize that the radon daughters, such as Lead-210, Polonium,
Bismuth, etc., are what makes radon exposure the second leading cause of lung
cancer. Radon is naturally occurring, but it is indisputable that pouring additional
amounts of the stuff into a community poses a real health danger. If the radioactive
material can be removed and thereby reduce the threat by many orders of magnitude it
must be done—particularly when the entire basis for the original auctioning and
mishandling of this material was a violation of law by the Atomic Energy Commission.
It is the Federal Government's responsibility to clean-up West lake and make this
community whole again.
“Tracking legacy radionuclides in St. Louis, Missouri...” only adds more credence to the
state’s experts brought by Attorney General Chris Koster a few months back that
showed evidence of radioactive contamination in offsite tree core samples and
groundwater. Authors Marco Kaltofen, Robert Alvarez, and Lucas Hixson conclude their
report with a sound recommendation, “Given the importance of radon releases from
soils to air as a vector for public exposure to radioactivity, increasing the density and
frequency of radon measurements around the West Lake Landfill should be an
important priority.”
To subscribe to this author's updates concerning the West Lake Landfill story, click
here.
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Missouri Senators demand clean-up of
West Lake; offer families ‘peace of mind’
November 19, 2015 12:50 PM MST BYRON DELEAR
In a stunning development on the radioactive West Lake Landfill story, today a
bipartisan congressional delegation from Missouri introduced a bill to finally instigate
an expedited clean-up of the orphaned nuclear waste site. Currently, the site is under
Superfund jurisdiction by the EPAand an encroaching underground fire at an adjacent
landfill, overseen by the State of Missouri, is threatening to reach the radioactive
material. After four decades of inaction little has been done to clean it up. The
legislation proposed today would transfer jurisdiction of West Lake from the EPA to the
Army Corps of Engineers’ FUSRAP program, which has the capacity and expertise to
clean-up nuclear weapons-related waste.
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Just Moms STL
“The EPA’s unacceptable delay in implementing a solution for the West Lake landfill has
destroyed its credibility and it is time to change course,” said Sen. Roy Blunt. “The
Corps has the knowledge, experience, and confidence of the families living near the
site. Transferring clean up efforts to its control will help move the process forward and
finally give these families the peace of mind they deserve. No parent should have to
raise their child in an environment where they fear for their health and safety.”
“Transferring clean up efforts will help move the
process forward and finally give these families the
peace of mind they deserve. No parent should have
to raise their child in an environment where they
fear for their health and safety.” - U.S. Senator Roy
Blunt
The radioactive material was illegally dumped at West Lake in 1973 under dubious
circumstances by the Cotter Corporation under license from the now defunct Atomic
Energy Commission. It was recently uncovered that there were potential discrepancies
with regard to the Commission’s licensing of the West Lake radioactive material.
Additionally, a stop-loss mechanism built into the law to “recall” any threatening or
mishandled nuclear waste was not acted upon.
After researching many of the primary source documents, it is self-evident that the case
at West Lake has slipped through the cracks and become a cross-jurisdictional
“nuclear-Gordian knot.” After 42 years, continuous finger-pointing, and an endless train
of studies and reports, little has been done to clean it up. However, the administerial
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paralysis has not come without a heavy price. Emerging health studies and surveys are
revealing elevated levels of sickness, disease, and death in the affected area. Property
values have plummeted and the state of general anxiety felt by local residents due to
the perception of a growing threat is only further exacerbated by what appears to be a
callous, unresponsive system of government.
Today, however, two U.S. Senators and Representatives from Missouri are attempting
to turnaround that perception.
“This is a huge victory for this community,” said Harvey Ferdman, policy advisor to
Missouri State Representative Bill Otto. “Despite all the bickering in Congress, we can
still accomplish important things with bipartisan efforts.”
“What we’re facing here in St. Louis is radiological
contamination leftover from the Greatest
Generation’s work to save the world during World
War II. Now it’s time to save St. Louis.” - Harvey
Ferdman
Otto’s district encompasses both the West Lake Landfill and the Bridgeton Landfill, the
source of the underground fire. Both Otto and Ferdman have supported the community
action group Just Moms STL in calling attention to this issue with the goal of arriving at
a "safe and permanent solution" for the St. Louis region.
“We've conducted too many actions to count and exhausted our blood, sweat, and tears
to get this legislation," remarked Robbin Dailey of Just Moms STL. "Now the real
struggle begins in getting this passed and properly funded. We've been fighting for
transfer of authority to FUSRAP for the past three years, so I suppose we're already
battle hardened. We are ready for the next phase to get this past the finish line."
“It’s been a long, well-coordinated campaign by this community and its supporters and
we’re hoping the rest of Congress understands the seriousness and urgency of our
situation,” said Ferdman. “What we’re facing here in St. Louis is radiological
contamination leftover from the Greatest Generation’s work to save the world during
World War II. Now it’s time to save St. Louis.”
To subscribe to this author's updates concerning the West Lake Landfill story, click
here.
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Part 1: Does existing law already order the
‘recall’ of radwaste at West Lake?
November 4, 2015 3:35 PM MST BYRON DELEAR
The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 and 1954 states that any distributed byproduct materials
that have been mishandled must be recalled by the Atomic Energy Commission.
Atomic Energy Commission / public domain
Many of you who have been following the ever-evolving West Lake Landfill story know
the history of how the Manhattan Project, established during World War II to create the
first working atomic weapons, produced over 125,000 tons of nuclear waste in St. Louis,
Missouri. To give you a sense of how much material this is, the towering, 630-foot tall
Gateway Arch, made of steel and concrete, only weighs 43,000 tons. In 1973,
somewhere between 43,000 and 48,000 tons of radioactive contaminants were illegally
dumped at the West Lake Landfill. Currently, the landfill has become a national news
story due to a migrating underground fire which some experts estimate could reach the
radioactive material in as little as 3-6 months. What would follow has been described
as a potentially “catastrophic event.” After 42 years of finger-pointing and an endless
train of studies and reports, the West Lake Landfill has yet to be cleaned-up, but we
may have finally found the “smoking gun” as to why it slipped through the cracks.
Bottom line? During a period of agency upheaval and a “changing-of-the-guard”
between the Atomic Energy Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the
Federal Government dropped the ball and didn’t follow the law.
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In 1942, the Manhattan Project began processing uranium for the war effort at
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works in St. Louis, Missouri. The utmost secrecy of the
Manhattan Project is well-known today; company work orders used code names such
as “orange juice,” “derbies,” “cocoa,” and “biscuits” for various top-secret processes and
materials. As explained in a 1962-issue of Mallinckrodt News, “the word uranium was
taboo, and the project became identified with the name ‘Tube Alloy Process.’” One of
the first Manhattan Project/Mallinckrodt documents from 1942 shows the name
“Uranium Oxide S.L.” penciled-out and replaced with “Tube Alloy Dioxide.”
For the next 15 years, the best kept secret in St. Louis produced tens of thousands of
tons of processed uranium for the defense of our nation and, until the late 1950s, was
the only source of this material for the entire country. However, the various processes
also generated more than a hundred thousand of tons of nuclear waste and residues
which in some instances were actually more radioactive than the uranium product itself.
“Eventually, more than 100 radiologically contaminated locations were
identified throughout the St. Louis region.”
Beginning in 1946, this highly dangerous, radiotoxic material was stored on a 22-acre
site near the city airport, some buried, some in rusting barrels, some littered on the
surface in piles. As reported that year by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, company officials
and security officers stated the material was neither radioactive nor dangerous.
Tragically, the cancer-causing substances began seeping into nearby Coldwater Creek
which runs through several densely populated zip codes in north St. Louis County.
During July-October 1973, 3000 truckloads of the stuff were dumped at the West Lake
Landfill. Eventually, more than 100 radiologically contaminated locations were identified
throughout the St. Louis region.
Today, all of these sites have fallen under the appropriate federal clean-up program
(FUSRAP) for nuclear weapons-related waste except for the West Lake Landfill. Why?
It all comes down to an obscure transaction in the 1960s when the Atomic Energy
Commission auctioned off all the contents of the airport nuclear waste site. Oddly,
instructions to bidders said, “everything must go.” The eventual owner of the material,
Cotter Corporation, shipped much of the material to its processing facility in Colorado,
but more than 40,000 tons were illegally dumped at West Lake. The supposed
reasoning for West Lake's exclusion is that because the radwaste was illegally handled
and dumped by a private entity, the Federal Government has been essentially absolved
of its responsibility to clean it up. Consequently, the “impasse at West Lake” persists to
this day despite the fact that its dangerous, radiotoxic material is the exact same
material from the exact same source as the other 100 contaminated sites in the region.
Some have suggested that this is a form of “territorial discrimination” adversely affecting
nearby residents and that the site’s exclusion from clean-up violates the principle of
equal protection under the law.
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“The ‘impasse at West Lake’ persists to this day despite the fact that
its dangerous, radiotoxic material is the exact same material from the
exact same source as the other 100 contaminated sites in the region.”
With regard to West Lake, the system seems to have broken down. It is failing the
community. Health studies now underway are beginning to show the real human cost of
four decades of inaction. The State of Missouri reports a 300% increase in childhood
brain cancer for the zip code immediately surrounding the landfill. Noxious and toxic
fumes emit from the site, property values have plummeted, and people are beyond fedup. The West Lake Facebook page has grown in the last few weeks from less than
4000 to over 18,000 concerned citizens. Local school districts have written parents to
warn of the situation, and this week, Just Moms STL delivered 12,000 signatures in a
black coffin calling for Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to declare a state of emergency.
Nixon has yet to respond.
Elected and appointed officials are often dumbstruck when asked about the impasse at
West Lake. There just doesn’t seem to be a reasonable explanation why in a suburban
county with a population of one million a landfill topped with Manhattan Project nuclear
waste hasn’t been cleaned-up. But there may be a good reason for their hesitancy and
confusion—there should have never been an impasse in the first place.
“According to U.S. law, the illegally dumped material at West Lake
must be removed by the U.S. government.”
Recently it was discovered that the legislative authority under which these nuclear
wastes were licensed clearly states that if any “byproduct material” was illegally
handled, or if that material poses an ongoing health hazard, or if the material was dealt
with in a manner beyond the purview of the licensed use, the Federal Government must
“recall” the waste. Yes, you heard that correctly, the Atomic Energy Commission, in its
establishing legislation from 1946 and its later amended authority in 1954, is directed
to pull-back any distributed radioactive materials that have been mishandled. Simply
put, according to U.S. law, the illegally dumped material at West Lake must be removed
by the U.S. government.
“The [Atomic Energy] Commission... shall recall any distributed materials from any
applicant, who is not equipped to observe or who fails to observe such safety standards
to protect health as may be established by the Commission or who uses such materials
in violation of law or regulation of the Commission or in a manner other than as
disclosed in the [license] application therefor.” ~ Atomic Energy Act of 1946
The 1973 dumping of radioactive material by the Cotter Corporation at the West Lake
Landfill perfectly fits this scenario and triggers all three conditions, namely, 1. The
radiotoxic waste presents an ongoing health and safety risk; 2. The dumping of this
waste violated the law; and, 3. Cotter Corporation clearly went beyond the scope of its
AEC license.
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“Congress intended to protect the public with these provisions of the Atomic Energy
Act,” said Diane Curran, a leading attorney on a wide range of nuclear licensing and
enforcement cases. “The risk posed by the encroaching fire calls for fast action by the
Federal Government to ensure prompt cleanup of the West Lake landfill for compliance
with the government’s responsibilities under the Atomic Energy Act.”
The hope is that this clause in the original Atomic Energy Act legislation now brought to
light communicates unequivocally that the people of the United States through their
representatives have expressed a very clear directive that nuclear material under the
control of the AEC should never be allowed to persist as a health threat to any
community after being mishandled by a private entity. Those of us in the community
would like to see the material removed immediately and believe it is the Federal
Government's responsibility to do so. The explicit directive cited in this article only
bolsters this opinion.
“Regardless of who is financially responsible, at the end of the day this community
needs to be brought out from under the mushroom cloud of the Manhattan Project,” said
Dawn Chapman of Just Moms STL. “This law says the Federal Government must act
whenever licensed material threatens the safety of the public—frankly, this happened as
soon as those licenses were issued.”
This is Part 1 of a two-part series.
To read Part 2 of this series, click here.
To subscribe to this author's updates concerning the West Lake Landfill story, click
here.
65
How a six-figure deal from the 1960s
blocked clean-up of radiotoxic site
October 13, 2015 8:39 AM MST BYRON DELEAR
The otherworldly scene of the radioactive West Lake Landfill in north St. Louis County,
Missouri. For 42 years, 165,000 tons of radioactively contaminated soil has not been
cleaned-up due to an obscure transaction in the 1960s.
Uploaded by Kqueirolomce to Wikimedia / Creative Commons license
One hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars. That's how much money was offered by
Contemporary Metals Corporation in 1962 to acquire all the contents of the world's
first nuclear waste dump. It may seem unbelievable and incredibly reckless by today’s
standards for the U.S government to even consider off-loading thousands of tons of
highly dangerous radioactive material to a small private entity, but at that time the
dangers were neither fully known nor appreciated. A subsequent owner illegally dumped
a large quantity of this radioactive material at the West Lake Landfill.
Today, an underground fire threatens to ignite these dangerous substances inundated
with uranium, thorium, and radium — a radiotoxic concoction found to be unique to
nuclear weapons-related waste. Recently, experts brought by Missouri Attorney General
Chris Koster estimate the fire could reach the radioactive waste in as little as 3-6
months. These same experts cite evidence of the radioactive contaminants leaching
off-site into trees and groundwater. Emergency evacuation plans warning of a
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potential “catastrophic event” have also been released by St. Louis County — naturally,
as can be expected, folks are growing restless.
Yesterday, four local school districts have sent letters to parents letting them know of
the potential emergency and that the circumstances are being closely monitored. “We
remain frustrated by the situation at the Landfill,” said Mike Fulton, superintendant of the
Pattonville School District. “This impacts not only our community, but the entire St. Louis
region.”
“We remain frustrated by the situation at the Landfill,” said Mike
Fulton, superintendant of the Pattonville School District. “This impacts
not only our community, but the entire St. Louis region.”
With the underground fire burning for nearly six years, four decades of inaction by a
rotating cavalcade of shape-shifting private interests, numerous state and federal
agencies, officials, and politicians, one might wonder:
What’s makes the West Lake Landfill case so special? — so absolutely unique a
situation to have foisted upon this region a decades-long, ongoing saga of bungled
management, finger-pointing, and negligence? Why hasn’t the site been cleaned-up?
Out of nearly 100 contaminated sites in the region, only one has been excluded from
the federal program (FUSRAP) designed to clean-up nuclear weapons-related waste:
the West Lake Landfill. Why? It all comes down to an obscure transaction in the 60s
where the U.S. government sold all the waste from the world’s first nuclear dump. Yes,
you heard that correctly: All the highly dangerous and radioactive material from the first
nuclear waste dump was sold to a small private outfit under license from the now
defunct Atomic Energy Commission.
In the following months, the first private owner of the material went bust, then a second
went down, and we have the beginning of a deadly game of “nuclear hot-potato.” Since
then, federal authorities have essentially claimed that the results of this transfer have
exculpated their responsibility to clean-up the contaminated site in the same manner as
the 100 other sites in St. Louis. As such, the West Lake Landfill is not considered a
“FUSRAP property” — at least not yet.
Until recently, many in the region were unaware of their city’s
importance to America’s national security efforts. But until the late
1950s, St. Louis was one of only a few sources of processed uranium
in the entire country.
The critical role St. Louis played in the early U.S. nuclear weapons program began with
the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II and continued through the early
Cold War years. Until recently, many in the region were unaware of their city’s
importance to America’s national security efforts. But until the late 1950s, St. Louis was
one of only a few sources of processed uranium in the entire country.*
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Mallinckrodt Chemical Works produced thousands of tons of the stuff, creating massive
amounts of radwaste and contamination which was trucked out to north St. Louis
County. Yes, there was a time when our precious planet did not have any nuclear waste
dumps; in 1946, however, we had our first, and it is not too hard to imagine how horribly
mismanaged it was.
By the mid-1960s, over 133,000 tons of highly radiotoxic nuclear waste had
accumulated on a 22-acre tract of land near the St. Louis airport (St. Louis Airport
Storage Site or SLAPS). Some of the waste had been there for twenty years sitting in
piles and rusty barrels leaching into the soil, air, and water. The contamination spread
along haul routes, into neighboring properties, and all along Coldwater Creek which
snakes its way through north St. Louis County. Sadly, for Mallinckrodt workers and
nearby residents, gross negligence in regard to handling this material has resulted in
elevated rates of sickness, disease, and death.
Sadly, for Mallinckrodt workers and nearby residents, gross negligence
in regard to handling this material has resulted in elevated rates of
sickness, disease, and death.
There are hints within the primary source record which would seem to suggest the
responsible federal agency at the time, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), was
pursuing an expedited way to retire the waste site. All the radioactive material was put
up for auction numerous times under the dubious assertion that the entire contents had
economic value despite the AEC stating they would not re-purchase any of it. The AEC
also oddly stated in its instructions to bidders that “everything must go” — insinuating
clearance of the land featured prominently in the decision to off-load. This would seem
to suggest a wrongful “outsourcing” of federal responsibility to mitigate “all hazards”
associated with the nuclear weapons program in defense of our country—a
responsibility clearly articulated in the original top-secret contracts between the United
States and Mallinckrodt. Many observers in the community feel that this shelving of
responsibility by the federal government is the “original sin” of the West Lake Landfill
situation, and that it is incumbent upon the U.S. government to rectify this error.
The original bid from Contemporary Metals for $126,500 might have been acceptable
had the firm presented a plausible plan for safe re-processing, however, according to
one researcher, the U.S. Geological Survey balked citing fears of further environmental
contamination. Narratives of this period offer different versions of how, and who, woundup with the nuclear hot-potato. There is some confusion among records with a number
of different private entities being involved in a series of transactions. The final bill of sale
for the contents of the world’s first nuclear dump site has either gone missing or been
destroyed but we do know that Continental Mining and Minerals of Chicago is cited by
governmental records as acquiring the material in 1966.
The radioactive material, now privately owned, was recklessly hauled and dumped out
in the open at another north St. Louis County site known as "Latty Avenue," or
Hazelwood Interim Storage Site (HISS). After Continental Mining went bust,
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Commercial Discount Corporation acquired the substances. Later, it was sold to Cotter
Corporation which shipped much of it to its Canon City, Colorado processing facility.
However, what they didn’t want to ship or reprocess was a problem.
“The transfer of the Cotter wastes to the West Lake Landfill was the
culmination of almost 40 years of careless management, inadequate
containment, and careless transportation practices."
Eventually, in 1973, Cotter mixed the remaining radioactive waste with what was
claimed to be merely “topsoil” and then illegally dumped 47,700 tons at West Lake. But
what they claimed was topsoil was actually heavily contaminated material from the Latty
Avenue site. In 1988, the landfill operator later told Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) investigators that the material was described to him as “clean fill dirt.” At the
behest of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the NRC in its 1988
investigation stated that there are 165,000 tons or 150,000 cubic yards of contaminated
soil in two areas at the West Lake Landfill.
“The transfer of the Cotter wastes to the West Lake Landfill was the culmination of
almost 40 years of careless management, inadequate containment, and careless
transportation practices," stated a 1996 report from the St. Louis Site Remediation Task
Force. "The activities of this 40-year period resulted in the contamination of the banks of
the Mississippi River, the river itself, numerous roadways and railroad right-of-ways,
over 100 vicinity properties, a major urban stream (Coldwater Creek), and groundwater
in the vicinity.”
"The activities of this 40-year period resulted in the contamination of
the banks of the Mississippi River, the river itself, numerous roadways
and railroad right-of-ways, over 100 vicinity properties, a major urban
stream (Coldwater Creek), and groundwater in the vicinity."
The AP reported this week on the disaster plan developed by government officials to
contend with a potentially “catastrophic event” should the fire continue its course of
migration toward the radiotoxic material. Although this specific scenario is
unprecedented—there is no other radioactive site in the world with an underground fire
burning next to it—as mentioned earlier, some experts predict that in as little as 3-6
months a radioactive plume of particulates and smoke could be lofted-up over the
densely populated area. The human cost, societal disruption, and economic damage to
the entire region could easily exceed tens of billions of dollars.
After 42 years, continuous finger-pointing, and an endless train of
studies and reports, little has been done to clean-up the site.
This is a real risk—albeit the most harrowing of a number of possible outcomes—but
despite the risk, the impasse on resolving the crisis persists. After 42 years, continuous
finger-pointing, and an endless train of studies and reports, little has been done to
clean-up the site. Cancers and other illnesses are presenting in the surrounding
69
community at statistically higher rates than average. Property values have plummeted.
Calls have been flooding to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to declare an emergency, or
at least attempt to pre-empt an emergency much like preparing for a hurricane on
approach. The White House has also been engaged in the last few months
with calls for an executive order to clean-up the site.
What the local community is requesting is for the callous stare-off between private
companies and the government to stop. The impasse has persisted for decades while
the region continues to suffer elevated rates of cancer, noxious odors, and plummeting
property values. These local citizens are neither seen nor treated as if they are part of
America’s national security equation—but they are. And St. Louis, in this case, should
not be left to fend for itself. This community has paid a heavy price for its role in
processing all the uranium for the Manhattan Project and early U.S. nuclear weapons
program and its time for a grateful nation to offer rightful compensation.
Due to the underground fire, the “impasse at West Lake” has now been exposed for all
to see. In a very real sense, the greater metropolitan St. Louis region could face a
potential $10B+ in catastrophic damage in a worst case scenario, or perhaps,
preemptively, approximately $500M in clean-up costs which should be covered by the
federal government.
Many are hopeful that the latest developments will finally break “the
impasse at West Lake” and relocate folks directly affected, guarantee
fair market value for nearby homeowners, and finally engage FUSRAP
to clean-up the mess.
The original sin of recklessly transferring ownership and responsibility of the waste
materials generated by the manufacture of The Bomb can be rectified. Sens. Blunt and
McCaskill, in addition to Reps. Clay and Wagner, can press for West Lake to be placed
under the Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis-based FUSRAP clean-up program.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon can declare a state of emergency which would bring
critical resources to bear on working toward a safe and permanent solution. President
Obama can task the Department of Energy to also place West Lake under FUSRAP
designation.
The impasse has gone on for far too long; the folks here in the community have suffered
enough. It’s time for our political leaders to lead on this issue instead of backpedaling
away from a worsening crisis. Many are hopeful that the latest developments will finally
break “the impasse at West Lake” and relocate folks directly affected, guarantee fair
market value for nearby homeowners, and finally engage FUSRAP to clean-up the
mess.
* An earlier version of this article mentioned St. Louis being the only source of
processed uranium in the entire nation until the late 1950s. This was stated in the 1996
St. Louis Remediation Task Force report for the local FUSRAP sites here. This is
incorrect. There was at least one other site which conducted industrial scale processing
70
of uranium ore into uranium metal during this period which was the Electro Metallurgical
Company of Niagara Falls, New York, also known as the Union Carbide and Chemical
Electro-Metallurgical Division Works. Thanks to Louis Ricciuti for this correction.
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State of Emergency Needed in
St. Louis due to Radioactive
Contamination
By Byron DeLear and Dawn Chapman
If ever there were an issue that needed executive action from the White House, it’s the
radioactive West Lake Landfill. Located in densely populated north St. Louis County,
the site contains nearly 50,000 tons of highly radiotoxic, uncontained nuclear waste
produced by the Manhattan Project during World War II. After 42 years, continuous
finger-pointing, and an endless train of studies and reports, little has been done to
clean it up.
The nuclear waste at West Lake was illegally dumped there in 1973, and as the PostDispatch recently reported, records show additional radioactive material from
Mallinckrodt’s downtown facility may have also been deposited at the site. This new
revelation was included in a recent bipartisan letter signed by Sens. Claire McCaskill
and Roy Blunt calling for the U.S. Department of Energy to re-evaluate the site’s
cleanup status. The significance of this is that the U.S. government is wholly
responsible for any and all health hazards connected to the Manhattan Project as
detailed in the original contracts between Mallinckrodt and the Manhattan
Engineering District acting in defense of America.
Cancer clusters and elevated sicknesses and deaths have been recorded in the
surrounding area, including an ongoing health survey, which now shows more than 45
cases of appendix cancer. Appendix cancer is exceedingly rare, and this incidence rate
is 1,075 percent higher than the national average.
To make matters worse, an underground fire burns in an adjacent landfill and is
migrating toward the radioactive waste. The fire has burned for years and it appears
no one has even tried to put it out. There is no other radioactive site in the United
States with an underground fire burning next to it.
The fact that thousands of tons of radioactive material is at the site has never been in
dispute, but unlike the 100 or so other similarly contaminated sites in St. Louis, West
Lake has been excluded from the federal program (FUSRAP) specifically tasked with
cleaning up nuclear weapons waste. Currently, the EPA Superfund oversees the
radioactive material at West Lake, while the state of Missouri has jurisdiction over the
underground fire, which may already be reaching small pockets of dangerous
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substances. Needless to say, the fire and radiation do not respect man-made
jurisdictions and arbitrary borders drawn on maps.
To further compound the problem, a series of private corporations swirl around the
history of the site and ownership of the material dumped there. As expected, these
private entities have repeatedly shown a priority to mitigate corporate liability at the
expense of the local community. Phoenix-based Republic Services, the current owner
of the site, recently attempted to block court-ordered monitoring data from being
provided to the state of Missouri, but Attorney General Chris Koster fought back and
won. Last week, the Department of Natural Resources released a letter indicating the
fire was moving closer to areas that have tested positive for high levels of radioactive
contaminants.
We are witness to a train wreck in slow motion that could have far-reaching negative
consequences for the entire region, and further finger-pointing and inaction are no
longer an option. The decades-long lack of action suggests the problem is a crossjurisdictional “nuclear Gordian knot,” only to be severed by executive action from the
White House.
President Obama has stated, “By the time a decision reaches my desk, by definition,
it’s a hard problem with no easy answers. Otherwise somebody else would have
solved it and I would never even hear about it.”
The West Lake Landfill has proved to be one such “hard problem”— and because
local residents have suffered and are continuing to suffer due to the defense of our
nation, the issue has an appropriate place with the commander-in-chief. The
Department of Energy, EPA, and Department of Defense are all under the White
House, and for a complete and responsible resolution, the jurisdictional fingerpointing must stop. The site must be dealt with in a holistic manner.
As recommended by policy experts Bob Alvarez and Dr. Helen Caldicott, and
numerous other community leaders including Kay Drey and Just Moms STL, the
entire location must be folded into the St. Louis-based, Army Corps FUSRAP
program, which is the cleanup program for weapons-related nuclear waste. With
bipartisan support from Sens. McCaskill and Blunt, President Obama could very well
accomplish this with the stroke of a pen.
Byron DeLear of Maryland Heights is a clean-energy executive. Dawn Chapman is an
organizer with Just Moms STL, the community action group leading the effort to
clean up the radioactive waste at the West Lake Landfill.
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Missouri AG Koster warns fire might reach
radioactive waste in three months
September 7, 2015 6:32 PM MST BYRON DELEAR
An underground fire also known as a "subsurface smoldering event" has been burning
for nearly six years in north St. Louis County at the Bridgeton Landfill. MO AG Koster
reports the fire may reach rad waste in three months.
Photo by Byron DeLear
On Sept. 3, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster released experttestimony that
radioactive and toxic contaminants have been detected in offsite areas surrounding the
Bridgeton and West Lake landfills located in north St. Louis County. In particular, tree
core samples reveal radioactive material consistent with nuclear-weapons waste. But
the rate of contamination could increase exponentially. One report, by Drs. Tony
Sperling, a landfill-fire expert and professional engineer, and Ali Abedini, a landfill-gas
specialist, warns an underground fire at the site which has been burning for six years
could reach thousands of tons radioactive material in as little as three months. Although
the outcome is not known, should this occur, predictions have been dire. Since the new
information was made public last week, calls have been growing among local
legislators, community leaders, and residents for emergency action.
“These reports underscore what has been clear from the beginning—Republic Services
[the current property owner] does not have this site under control,” Koster said. “Not
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only does the landfill emit a foul odor, it appears that it has poisoned its neighbors’
groundwater and vegetation. The people of Missouri can’t afford to wait any longer—
Republic needs to get this site cleaned up.”
"The people of Missouri can’t afford to wait any longer—Republic
[Services] needs to get this site cleaned up."—Missouri Attorney
General Chris Koster
The two adjacent landfills have increasingly been a topic of public scrutiny and outcry
since the “subsurface smoldering event” was detected at the site in December 2009.
There is now mounting evidence that dangerous substances have been incinerated
sending toxic, carcinogenic particulates and fumes into the area.
“This is a very serious medical issue,” stated Dr. Helen Caldicott, an expert on the
health hazards associated with radiation poisoning. “When radioactive elements are
taken up by trees and plants offsite, this indicates that these elements are also available
to be concentrated in fruit and vegetables grown nearby by the adjacent population.
Also local water supplies could be contaminated. Therefore they should be assessed for
contamination.”
The recipient of 21 honorary doctoral degrees in part for her work on the Three Mile
Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima nuclear disasters, Dr. Caldicott has been reviewing
records and studies associated with the West Lake radioactive site since last spring.
She has called the site an “acute medical emergency” which needs to be cleaned-up
immediately.
"It is quite possible that even one single particle of ionizing radiation
can cause cancer—and because we're seeing elevated incidence rates
in the area—the link to West Lake becomes more plausible."—Dr.
Helen Caldicott
The waste was generated by the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II to
create the first working atomic weapons. Through Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, St.
Louis played a pivotal role in the processing of uranium for the world’s first nuclear
reactor, the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, and further nuclear weapons
development in the early Cold War years.
Out of approximately 100 different contaminated locations in St. Louis due to the U.S.
nuclear weapons program, the West Lake Landfill is unique in that it was excluded from
the pertinent federal clean-up program (FUSRAP), and that there’s an underground fire
creeping toward the radiologically impacted material. While other area sites have been
cleaned-up or are in process, what the Attorney General's reports conclude is that the
uncontained toxic and radioactive substances at the Bridgeton and West Lake Landfill
have been leaching into the soil, groundwater, and air. Higher than average cancer
rates have been found in the immediate zip code, including a 302% increase in
childhood brain cancer.
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“Uranium 235 and 238 and Thorium are carcinogenic, and they also can damage kidney
function,” stated Dr. Caldicott. "It is quite possible that even one single particle of
ionizing radiation can cause cancer—and because we're seeing elevated incidence
rates in the area—the link to West Lake becomes more plausible."
Early records of Mallinckrodt’s role during the Manhattan Project have gone missing or
been destroyed, and although primary source records show that 50,000 tons of
radioactive waste were illegally dumped at West Lake, expert observers warn this may
only be the tip of the iceberg.
St. Louis County is conducting additional health studies and County Executive Steve
Stenger has recently asked the EPA if it intends to fully analyze the site to discover the
amount and exact location of the radioactive material. The EPA has yet to respond to
County Executive Stenger’s inquiry about a full characterization of the site.
After a long series of studies and reports by the EPA and various U.S. agencies over
four decades, the community is demanding action. “It's time for the EPA to offer these
families that are trapped living in this radiotoxic poison a voluntary buyout. I'm scared for
my children, I'm scared for other people’s children, and I’m scared for this community,”
said Karen Nickel of Just Moms STL, the community action group formed to find a safe
and permanent solution.
"Now more than ever the State needs to take control of the decisions at the landfill," said State
Representative Bill Otto. Rep. Otto, whose legislative district includes the two landfills, recently
called for immediate state intervention to extinguish the underground fire. "The experts
presented by Attorney General Koster are dealing with the facts on the ground, and it’s now
time to act on those facts to bring safety to this community.”
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President Obama needs to take action on
radioactive West Lake Landfill
By Byron DeLear and Dawn Chapman for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch | August 25, 2015
A sign warns of radiation at the West Lake landfill in Bridgeton on March 13, 2012. Photo by Laurie Skrivan,
[email protected]
If ever there were an issue that needed executive action from the White House, it’s the
radioactive West Lake Landfill. Located in densely populated north St. Louis County, the
site contains nearly 50,000 tons of highly radiotoxic, uncontained nuclear waste
produced by the Manhattan Project during World War II. After 42 years, continuous
finger-pointing, and an endless train of studies and reports, little has been done to clean
it up.
The nuclear waste at West Lake was illegally dumped there in 1973, and as the PostDispatch recently reported, records show additional radioactive material from
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Mallinckrodt’s downtown facility may have also been deposited at the site. This new
revelation was included in a recent bipartisan letter signed by Sens. Claire McCaskill
and Roy Blunt calling for the U.S. Department of Energy to re-evaluate the site’s
cleanup status. The significance of this is that the U.S. government is wholly
responsible for any and all health hazards connected to the Manhattan Project as
detailed in the original contracts between Mallinckrodt and the Manhattan Engineering
District acting in defense of America.
Cancer clusters and elevated sicknesses and deaths have been recorded in the
surrounding area, including an ongoing health survey, which now shows more than 45
cases of appendix cancer. Appendix cancer is exceedingly rare, and this incidence rate
is 1,075 percent higher than the national average.
To make matters worse, an underground fire burns in an adjacent landfill and is
migrating toward the radioactive waste. The fire has burned for years and it appears no
one has even tried to put it out. There is no other radioactive site in the United States
with an underground fire burning next to it.
The fact that thousands of tons of radioactive material is at the site has never been in
dispute, but unlike the 100 or so other similarly contaminated sites in St. Louis, West
Lake has been excluded from the federal program (FUSRAP) specifically tasked with
cleaning up nuclear weapons waste. Currently, the EPA Superfund oversees the
radioactive material at West Lake, while the state of Missouri has jurisdiction over the
underground fire, which may already be reaching small pockets of dangerous
substances. Needless to say, the fire and radiation do not respect man-made
jurisdictions and arbitrary borders drawn on maps.
To further compound the problem, a series of private corporations swirl around the
history of the site and ownership of the material dumped there. As expected, these
private entities have repeatedly shown a priority to mitigate corporate liability at the
expense of the local community. Phoenix-based Republic Services, the current owner of
the site, recently attempted to block court-ordered monitoring data from being provided
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to the state of Missouri, but Attorney General Chris Koster fought back and won. Last
week, the Department of Natural Resources released a letter indicating the fire was
moving closer to areas that have tested positive for high levels of radioactive
contaminants.
We are witness to a train wreck in slow motion that could have far-reaching negative
consequences for the entire region, and further finger-pointing and inaction are no
longer an option. The decades-long lack of action suggests the problem is a crossjurisdictional “nuclear Gordian knot,” only to be severed by executive action from the
White House.
President Obama has stated, “By the time a decision reaches my desk, by definition, it’s
a hard problem with no easy answers. Otherwise somebody else would have solved it
and I would never even hear about it.”
The West Lake Landfill has proved to be one such “hard problem”— and because local
residents have suffered and are continuing to suffer due to the defense of our nation,
the issue has an appropriate place with the commander-in-chief. The Department of
Energy, EPA, and Department of Defense are all under the White House, and for a
complete and responsible resolution, the jurisdictional finger-pointing must stop. The
site must be dealt with in a holistic manner.
As recommended by policy experts Bob Alvarez and Dr. Helen Caldicott, and numerous
other community leaders including Kay Drey and Just Moms STL, the entire location
must be folded into the St. Louis-based, Army Corps FUSRAP program, which is the
cleanup program for weapons-related nuclear waste. With bipartisan support from Sens.
McCaskill and Blunt, President Obama could very well accomplish this with the stroke of
a pen.
Byron DeLear of Maryland Heights is a clean-energy executive. Dawn Chapman is an
organizer with Just Moms STL, the community action group leading the effort to clean
up the radioactive waste at the West Lake Landfill.
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New revelations shake-up EPA jurisdiction
of St. Louis radioactive site
July 22, 2015 10:41 PM MST BYRON DELEAR
The otherworldly scene of the radioactive West Lake landfill in North St. Louis County,
Missouri. Toxic fumes flare off into the surrounding neighborhood. Documented cancerclusters have raised the call for the site's clean-up.
Uploaded by Kqueirolomce to Wikimedia / Creative Commons license
In a bipartisan letter made public today, U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill
of Missouri have called attention to the West Lake landfill which contains tens of
thousands of tons of radioactive material generated during the top-secret Manhattan
Project of World War II. The site has never been included in the appropriate Federal
clean-up program and the bipartisan congressional delegation have called for a
reevaluation of its status.
Addressed to Ernest Moniz, a nuclear physicist and head of the U.S. Department of
Energy, the statement touches on what’s emerging as a civil rights issue based on
environmental justice—the fact that out of numerous radiologically contaminated sites in
North St. Louis County, only one site has been excluded from the Federal program
tasked with cleaning-up nuclear weapons-related waste.
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Located in Bridgeton, Mo., the site that’s been left behind is the West Lake landfill,
which also happens to rest dangerously next to an underground fire burning at an
adjacent site—the Bridgeton landfill.
After McCaskill and Blunt's letter was made public, a spokesperson for Exelon
Corporation provided new revelations to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that “there’s some
evidence that there could be other waste streams there.”
Sadly, this new information may confirm the worst fears of nearby residents—it may
indicate that the Bridgeton landfill also contains radioactive substances, which, it would
seem, are now on fire.
"...new concerns have been raised by a PRP (potentially responsible
party) that non-Cotter affiliated material may be present at the West
Lake and Bridgeton sites.”—Sen. McCaskill, Sen. Blunt, Rep. Clay, and
Rep. Wagner in a letter to the DoE regarding the dangers of unknown
radioactive material at the West Lake landfill
Exelon inherited the liability of the private company (Cotter) that illegally dumped the
radioactive waste at the West Lake site and is most likely the party mentioned by the
Missouri congressional delegation's letter: "...new concerns have been raised by a PRP
(potentially responsible party) that non-Cotter affiliated material may be present at the
West Lake and Bridgeton sites.”
The new information from Exelon only confirms data included in a 2013
white paper, The West Lake Landfill: A Radioactive Legacy of the Nuclear Arms
Race by Robert Alvarez, Senior Scholar for the Institute for Policy Studies in
Washington D.C. Alvarez's paper details the fact that many more tons of contaminated
material sourced from the Latty Avenue site made its way to West Lake under the
deceptive rubric “clean-fill.” The evidence of more dense contaminants was later
confirmed by soil samples taken at West Lake which show the presence of Uranium and
Thorium—common “daughter products” associated with nuclear weapons development.
"The situation here is one of the most graphic illustrations of the
enduring costs paid by an American community for its participation in
the cold war."
The radioactive material littered across North St. Louis County all stems from the war
effort during World War II to build the first nuclear weapons before Nazi Germany or
Imperial Japan could develop or acquire the technology. St. Louis played a pivotal role
in the defense of our nation and ever since has been paying an insidious price.
As the New York Times reported 25 years ago, “The situation here is one of the most
graphic illustrations of the enduring costs paid by an American community for its
participation in the cold war. For 24 years, St. Louis was a vital link in the chain of
production for atomic weapons because of a chemical process that the Mallinckrodt
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Chemical Works developed for purifying large quantities of uranium. The company, one
of the city's oldest industrial concerns, produced the uranium used at the University of
Chicago on Dec. 2, 1942, to sustain the world's first nuclear chain reaction and for the
atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.”
For various reasons including corporate malfeasance, national security and secrecy,
and a general misunderstanding of many of the health dangers involved, the nuclear
waste from WWII and early Cold War years was dumped at numerous sites in North St.
Louis County and at a nearby Mallinckrodt production facility located at Weldon Spring,
Mo. which was listed as a Superfund site in 1987.
“The DoE came to St. Louis in 1990 and determined that the radioactive downtown
Mallinckrodt site, radioactive airport site, and radioactive Hazelwood Latty Avenue site
qualified under FUSRAP,” explained Heather Navarro, Executive Director of the
Missouri Coalition for the Environment, at a press conference today hosted by the
Franciscan Sisters of Mary.
FUSRAP or the “Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program” was launched by
Congress in 1974 to specifically clean-up areas contaminated by nuclear-weapons
related radioactive material and contamination.
“The DoE intentionally left West Lake landfill off of the FUSRAP list even though the
radioactive materials dumped at West Lake came from the Hazelwood Latty Avenue
site,” continued Navarro. “The DoE’s refusal to include West Lake as a FUSRAPdesignated site led to it becoming anEPA site later in 1990. This is why we appreciate
the letter today asking the DoE to reevaluate this decision and we hope that it will lead
to a FUSRAP-designation for West Lake as it should have been designated in 1990.”
The pertinent radioactive and cancer-causing substances that were stored out in the
open at the St. Louis Airport sites and Latty Avenue are uranium, thorium, radium, and
their radioactive decay products. Through freedom of information requests, archival
documents unearthed by Just Moms STL, Harvey Ferdman, Ed Smith, and Kay Drey
show that at least 50,000 tons of the nuclear-weapons radioactive waste was illegally
dumped at West Lake.
"How can we assess the real threat when no-one has performed a
thorough testing of both the West Lake and Bridgeton sites? We don't
know exactly what's there, but we know people are dying."—Dawn
Chapman, Just Moms STL
“But no one really knows what’s been dumped there because the site has never been
fully ‘characterized’ or analyzed,” said Dawn Chapman of the group Just Moms STL,
which has been organizing community meetings to call attention to the site and to find a
“safe and permanent solution” for the threat of the radiotoxic material. "How can we
assess the real threat when no-one has performed a thorough testing of both the West
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Lake and Bridgeton sites? We don't know exactly what's there, but we know people are
dying."
Dr. Helen Caldicott, one of the world's preeminent experts on the health impacts of
radiation poisoning, last May had reviewed the archival documents and current health
studies concerning the site, and proclaimed it "an acute medical emergency" which
needs to be cleaned-up "this year."
Joined by U.S. Reps Lacy Clay (D) and Ann Wagner (R), Sens. McCaskill and Blunt
state the “people of St. Louis have had to live with this burden for generations, and we
believe it is incumbent upon the Federal government to find a clear path forward for all
the sites either through removal of the RIM [radioactive material] or effective
containment.”
What’s key about this development is the tacit bipartisan acknowledgment that all the
contaminated sites must be dealt with in an equitable and holistic manner. There have
been cancer clusters, auto-immune diseases, and deaths associated with the presence
of the radioactive material which was stored in open and uncontained locations for
decades leaching into the ground water, nearby Coldwater Creek, and polluting the air.
Some of the cancers that have expressed themselves are extremely rare forms such as
appendix cancer of which there are more than 50 documented cases.
"...we believe it is incumbent upon the Federal government to find a
clear path forward for all the sites either through removal of the RIM
[radioactive material] or effective containment."—Sen. Blunt, Sen.
McCaskill, Rep. Clay, and Rep. Wagner
Equal protection under the law
The ongoing dangers due to the uranium, thorium, radium, and radioactive decay
products at West Lake may be violating the civil rights of nearby residents in Bridgeton
and Maryland Heights. There is an emergence of a civil rights case based on
the unequal application of law.
The argument is as follows: What is it about West Lake area residents that are
undeserving of the same level of protection afforded to people that live near the Latty
Avenue site or other St. Louis radioactive sites which are all being cleaned-up by the
FUSRAP program?
The radioactive contaminants at both West Lake and Latty are identical and were
created at Mallinckrodt as part of the Manhattan Project and U.S. nuclear weapons
program and yet Latty has been designated for FUSRAP clean-up while the material at
West Lake is ignored. Same radioactive material, same source, same health threat.
Folks not only deserve equal protection under the law, it is their constitutional right.
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"It’s going to be a long, complicated process, but a journey of 1000
miles starts with one step."—Councilman Jerry Grimmer, City of
Bridgeton
“This is a regional and even national issue that’s finally receiving the attention that it
deserves. We need to get busy and clean it up like every other site [in St. Louis]
because the reality is West Lake has been ignored,” commented Jerry Grimmer,
Councilman for the City of Bridgeton. “The EPA, although well-intentioned, has written
report after report but nothing gets done. This letter is a positive step of taking some
action. It’s going to be a long, complicated process, but a journey of 1000 miles starts
with one step. Finally, folks here have some vindication for what we’ve been fighting
for.”
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Radioactive site continues to plague St.
Louis residents and region
May 29, 2015 8:21 PM MST BYRON DELEAR
Mothers and residents protest inaction at a radioactive landfill in St. Louis County,
Missouri. A dangerous underground fire burns next to radioactive waste from the
Manhattan Project which successfully built the first working atomic weapons in WWII.
Just Moms STL
In North Saint Louis County, Missouri, in the City of Bridgeton, there is a ticking
time bomb in the form of several contiguous landfills which contain radioactive waste
and all the “daughter products” associated with weapons-grade uranium processing.
Most notably, the site in question, the West Lake landfill, has the largest concentration
in the nation of one of these highly dangerous daughter products.
In a 2013 report entitled, The West Lake Landfill: A Radioactive Legacy of the Nuclear
Arms Race, Robert Alvarez states, “Of significance is the fact that the largest estimated
amount of Thorium-230, a long-lived, highly radiotoxic element, is present at West Lake
— more than any other U.S. nuclear weapons storage or disposal site.”
Alvarez, Senior Scholar for the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C., lays out
several imminent risks associated with inaction—1. The landfill has no engineered
barriers and its radioactive material is uncontained; 2. It’s located in a densely
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populated area; and 3. The site is only thousands of feet away from the Missouri River,
a source of drinking water for area residents.
“Of significance is the fact that the largest estimated amount of
Thorium-230, a long-lived, highly radiotoxic element, is present at West
Lake — more than any other U.S. nuclear weapons storage or disposal
site.” —Robert Alvarez, Senior Scholar for the Institute for Policy
Studies, Washington D.C.
To further compound the problem, there is an underground fire in an adjacent landfill
smoldering away and could be creeping toward the majority of radioactive material if it
hasn’t hit it already. Radioactive substances on fire would liberate some of the material
in the form of airborne particulates—a community-wide health problem of nightmarish
proportions.
One serious persistent issue is the lack of detailed and accurate records of precisely
what has been dumped at the site. A number of private corporations swirl around the
narrative with even less accurate depictions of what was moved to West Lake. Despite
the lack of official documentation and spotty records from private entities, workers have
now begun to come forward with stories of undocumented disposal of hazardous waste
products at the site.
Of course, the irresponsible handling of radioactive material is not unique to St. Louis
and many of the contaminated sites around the U.S. have similar stories of mishandling
and neglect. In the following decades, many workers on these projects suffered horribly
as radiation poisoning slowly crept-up on them. But workers are not the only victims of
these programs—at these contaminated sites, nearby residents have also been
affected.
This week, internationally recognized physician Dr. Helen Caldicott reviewed documents
and reports concerning the West Lake landfill. She stated in no uncertain terms that the
health records and data clearly show that contaminants have been causing cancers in
the affected region at elevated levels.
“The [West Lake] site needs to be dealt with immediately. It needs to be
cleaned-up this year.” — Dr. Helen Caldicott
As the recipient of 21 honorary doctoral degrees for her work on the health
consequences of exposure to nuclear material including the disasters at Three Mile
Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, Caldicott is one of the world’s most-respected
experts on the topic. With regard to the West Lake site, she concluded that ongoing
health dangers demand that, “the [West Lake] site needs to be dealt with immediately. It
needs to be cleaned-up this year.”
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On Friday, Dr. Caldicott spoke with Just Moms STL and agreed to advise on their
situation, help broaden awareness of the site's dangers, and more importantly, coerce
Federal action to clean it up and deliver safety to nearby residents and region.
Some History
During the Second World War, the race was on to develop the first working nuclear
weapons, and following a letter written by Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt
warning of the growing capacity for Nazi Germany to acquire nuclear weapons
technology, the Manhattan Project was launched. Its goal was to produce the first Abomb and to do it before Hitler did. It was a matter of winning the war and some would
say the research, uranium refining, and building of America’s first atomic weapons was
conducted in a reckless manner. Throughout the early Cold War years, these practices
continued on in much the same way.
For security reasons, the Manhattan Project was decentralized with disparate
communities across the nation playing very distinct roles. Workers and even managers
were totally in the dark about the ultimate purpose of the secret project. In St. Louis,
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works was charged with refining the purest uranium ore then
available and by 1958 had processed approximately 50,000 tons.
Anti-nuclear stalwart and native St. Louisan, Kay Drey, puts the quantity into terms that
local folks can really metabolize: "One fact is that there was enough nuclear waste left
over from the processing of the bomb in St. Louis to fill Busch Stadium."
It would be a victory for us to gather the necessary resolve to face the
fact that this material, born of the unparalleled effort by the Greatest
Generation to win World War II, is the responsibility of our nation writ
large just as much as the Manhattan Project itself. It would be a victory
for us as Americans to acknowledge that a price is still being paid by
citizens in defense of our nation—and we mustn’t ignore their plight.
As mentioned, workers in this space suffered immeasurably and there are many
documented cases of cancers and deaths caused by exposure to radioactive material.
For example, Caldicott estimates, “between one-fifth and one-half of uranium miners in
North America have died and are continuing to die of lung cancer.”
The refining process created thousands of tons of waste which was initially stored at the
airport and eventually deposited directly on the ground at the “Latty Avenue” property in
Hazelwood, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis. Subsequently, portions of this material was sold
to Cotter Corporation and 12-18 inches of Latty Avenue top-soil was transported to
West Lake landfill under the deceptive rubric “clean-fill.”
This misrepresented dirt was neither clean nor clear as Alvarez explains, “The top soil
at the Latty Avenue site contained high levels of long-lived uranium decay
products, after, the removal of a reported 39,000 tons of top soil over a wide area were
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mixed with the remaining wastes disposed at West Lake. Despite this evidence, how
much of the other wastes that were sent to the West Lake landfill remains
unaddressed.”
The history of who owned the material after Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, and where
and when it was transported, is complex and convoluted. But today, after thousands of
hours of research by an inspirational group of St. Louis mothers and activists
named Just Moms STL, the documents collected have started to fill in the picture.
Sadly, what’s been emerging is more harrowing than ever.
The families and children near the West Lake landfill have experienced a host of
maladies ranging from nose bleeds and breathing problems to full blown cancer,
tumors, and death. Several studies have shown elevated levels of these health
complications and in particular certain rare cancers that are idiosyncratic to exposure to
daughter products of uranium weapons processing such as Thorium-230 and Radium,
etc.
Because of the complexities of ownership over the years and the propensity to not want
to face any scenarios—let alone the worst case ones—the West Lake landfill was
excluded from clean-up programs that cover and handle the vast majority of U.S.
nuclear sites. And the stuff is just sitting there. No concrete structures, no barrels, just
sitting there for 40 years leaching into the ground water, the air, the neighbors.
These victims are heroes in the sense that they have suffered due to the war effort and
are continuing to suffer. It is a patriotic duty for us to never leave our heroes behind. It
would be a victory for us to gather the necessary resolve to face the fact that this
material, born of the unparalleled effort by the Greatest Generation to win World War II,
is the responsibility of our nation writ large just as much as the Manhattan Project itself.
It would be a victory for us as Americans to acknowledge that a price is still being paid
by citizens in defense of our nation—and we mustn’t ignore their plight.
In his report, Robert Alvarez’s main recommendation is that, “like other U.S. nuclear
weapons legacy sites in the St. Louis, Missouri area, the U.S. Congress should seek to
remove these radioactive materials and assure long-term stewardship responsibilities
under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) managed by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Energy.”
Dawn Chapman, one of the lead organizers for Just Moms STL,observed, "These
people are dying from 'friendly fire,' if you will, and all over St. Louis you have children
laying in coffins...those children, in essence, are in many ways not unlike the victims of
WWII."
It’s about time to capture what was left behind and take care of our own.
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