In the wake of a state health study showing high rates of cancers in north أغر؟´«أ½ County near Coldwater Creek, the أغر؟´«أ½ County Council unanimously endorsed Tuesday night a resolution calling for an expedited clean-up of the creek and expanded studies of the creek’s effects on public health.
Before the vote, members of the Coldwater Creek Community Group — who gave personal examples of disease in their families as well as the general problems of radioactive nuclear weapons waste — urged the council to endorse the resolution.
Carl Chappell of Florissant said that his father, who had worked at Mallinckrodt, died young of cancer after working with nuclear waste and that his own son was battling appendix cancer.
The company refined uranium for 15 years at a downtown site. Tons of the waste were trucked to a couple of sites near the airport and the headwaters of the creek.
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Kay Drey, a long-time environmentalist, told the council that it had “a vital role to play toward saving lives and improving the health and safety of today’s and future أغر؟´«أ½ County residents.â€
The council “expresses its strongest support†for “more study of health problems in and around Coldwater Creek, including cancer and the entire range of health problems known to be associated with exposure of ionizing radiation,†the resolution reads.
The resolution, initiated by Councilman Sam Page, a physician, was co-sponsored by the entire seven-member council. Councilman Mike O’Mara said he grew up and lived in that “hotspot†and knew many area incidences of cancer among neighbors and people in his district.
The resolution also requests that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies partner with Missouri departments to investigate.
“It’s a momentous day,†Jenell Wright, a leader of the Coldwater Creek Group, said afterward. “It has been an issue for decades and we finally have the council validating our concerns and saying â€کwe want it fixed.’â€
The group also backs a county health department’s initiative to work with state, federal and academic partners to further evaluate reported cancers and other health issues. Last month, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services released a study finding higher-than-expected rates of leukemia and other cancers near Coldwater Creek.
