Radioactive Coldwater Creek A Cancer Risk: Federal Report

FLORISSANT, MO — A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that radioactive contamination in and around Coldwater Creek in north St. Louis County could have increased cancer risks for people who lived or played there, especially prior to 2000.

Investigators found that high concentrations of Thorium-230, Radium-226 and Uranium-238 — byproducts of America's quest for the atomic bomb in the 1940s — had leaked into the creek bed from a nearby waste site, and linked the presence of the radioactive isotope to previous findings of higher rates of bone, liver and other cancers among nearby residents.

Residents who lived in the area between the 1960s and the 1990s are especially at risk, the report found, but recent residents also have a higher cancer risk than the general population.

Community activist Kim Visintine said in a post to a Coldwater Creek Facebook page that she is pleased with the report's acknowledgement of the increased cancer risks, calling it "a positive major milestone."

"We believe this federal acknowledgement opens the door for us to pursue legislation to be included in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act," Visintine wrote.

That law, passed in 2012, created a program to evaluate claims related to nuclear testing and enrichment and pay compensation to victims whose cancers and other health problems can be linked to the nuclear weapons industry.

The report doesn't recommend testing or screening for past or current residents of the area because no test exists to diagnose such small, long-term exposures to radiation. Still, if you're worried, experts say, talk to your personal doctor who can determine just what tests are warranted on a case-by-case basis.

The report recommends reporting any new or unusual symptoms to your doctor immediately. Upon request, the report states, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry can facilitate a consultation between personal doctors and environmental health specialists.

The report also recommends signs to warn residents and visitors of their exposure risk, as well as public health outreach and continued clean-up of the site. The Army Corps of Engineers has been working for decades to remove the radioactive contamination.

Representatives from the agency will hold a question and answer session at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Florissant on June 27 from noon to 3 p.m. and June 28 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to address citizen concerns. Public comments will be added to the final report.

If you can't make the meetings, you can also email comments or questions to ATSDRRecordsCenter@cdc.gov, or write to:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Attn: Records Center
Re: Coldwater Creek, North St. Louis County, MO4770
Buford Highway, NE (MS F-09)
Atlanta, Georgia 30341

Read the full report here, or find a copy at the Florissant branch of the St. Louis Public Library.

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