Clemens: Radioactive contamination findings a 'bombshell'

North St. Louis reps and activists to hold press conference Thursday

State Rep. Doug Clemens (Tim Bommel/House Communications)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — An analysis of government records found that the Department of Energy had repeatedly downplayed and ignored the risks of the byproducts and waste created by uranium refining efforts that took place in St. Louis beginning in 1942 during the development of the earliest nuclear weapons.

The collaborative effort from over 27 journalists at six outlets, including reporting from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s “Legacy of the Bomb” series, found that federal agencies knew about the dangers since as early as 1949.

“This bombshell reporting confirms the Department of Energy has purposefully downplayed the impact of radioactive contamination in North St. Louis County — especially at Coldwater Creek, Weldon Spring and the Westlake Landfill — for 75 years,” said State Rep. Doug Clemens, D-St. Ann. “The department misled and outright lied to the citizens of this region. To those who wrote off the dangers of contamination as ‘slight,’ ‘minimal’ or ‘low-level,’ let me tell you that there is nothing slight, minimal or low-level about losing a loved one.”

Clemens; State Rep. Tricia Byrnes, R-Wentzville, and organizers of Just Moms STL announced they will hold a press conference Thursday at the Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center in light of this new information.

“We are gathering to remember those lost to the rare forms of cancer and illness that have been pronounced in this area,” Clemens said. “We will also call on Attorney General Andrew Bailey to use the powers of his office to seek justice for the Missouri families impacted by the reckless, dangerous and careless acts of negligence by the U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals (formerly Mallinckrodt Chemical Works), and any other entity involved in this conspiracy against the public.”

Press conference information

WHO: State Reps. Doug Clemens and Tricia Byrnes, Just Moms STL

WHAT: A press conference to address findings of new report detailing malfeasance by the Department of Energy on radioactive contamination in North St. Louis County

WHEN: Noon, July 13, 2023

WHERE: Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center

                 7295 MO-94

                 St. Charles, MO 63304