For more than two decades, through direct citizen and government engagement, MCE has supported the removal and relocation of radioactive material that contaminated the St. Louis region. Under the Army Corps of Engineers, more than 1,000,000 cubic yards of radioactive contamination has been removed from the St. Louis Downtown Site and contaminated sites along Coldwater Creek in north St. Louis County, including the St. Louis Airport Site and Latty Avenue Properties in Hazelwood.
MCE’s most recent efforts focused on support for full removal of the radioactive material and a buyout for homeowners closest to the West Lake Landfill Superfund site in St. Louis County near Bridgeton, Missouri. On September 27, 2018, the EPA issued a decision that calls for removing up to 70% of the total radioactivity at the West Lake Landfill with disposal at a licensed out-of-state facility designed for such material. The decision is a huge step forward and a major shift from the EPA’s 2008 decision to cap-and-leave all of the radioactivity at the unlined landfill in the Missouri River floodplain. MCE continues to work with the community in order to protect their health and property.
Ed Smith, Policy Director
