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Big Crowd at Civic Center Meeting on Coldwater Creek Cancer Wanted to Learn More
Story and photo by Bob Lindsey
One of the largest crowds in memory packed the Florissant Civic Center last week to hear updates on the cleanup and future testing sites along Coldwater Creek where many think radiation from the creek bed caused various cancers.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineer employees about radiation conditions at Coldwater Creek
More than 300 people packed the civic center to view maps of the sites where testing is underway, ask questions of the Army Corps of Engineer representatives, learn about the time table for future testing and for some an opportunity to vent frustrations on the situation. One woman asked if there could be a fundraiser for projects to assist those who had contracted cancer from radiation in the creek. She was told that only Congress could fund such programs.
Some residents were hoping to learn of the seven new radioactive “hot spots” found near the creek, but were told by Bruce Munholand, a Corps manager for nuclear cleanup, that they are not prepared yet to release the sites. However, he did say that the property owners have been contacted. Contaminated soil is being removed at St. Cyr Park from sites at depths of one foot to at least five feet deep. The Duchesne Park and Archdiocese property will be next for soil excavation.
The Army Corps of Engineers have found radiation at St. Cin Park on the eastern city limits of Hazelwood, at the St. Louis Archdiocese’s St. Ferdinand Cemetery and at five residential backyards along Palm Drive at the eastern-most boundary of Hazelwood and in Duchesne Park in Florissant. The Corps contends the low levels found present no risk to the public or the environment. Still some residents of the area are skeptical and have long used a Facebook page to detail cases of cancer from residents who lived near the creek in the 1970s and 1980s.
Munholand also said, to date, no contamination has been found on the top soil that would affect vegetation.
The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Register (ADSDR), along with the St. Louis County and Missouri health departments are now involved in the research of the creek where a high number of residents had reported various types of cancer ranging from leukemia to colon and throat cancers. The research is expected to be part of a Washington University-Siteman Cancer Center study. Up-to-date information is available at www.coldwatercreekfacts.com
Corps officials said that in the latter part of 2016, testing for contamination will occur between St. Denis bridge to Old Halls Ferry Road, near the Old Florissant Golf Course, and then onto the Missouri River. The entire project could take 12-18 months, residents were told.
