Are Radioactive Materials Buried In St. Louis Landfill Causing Illnesses?

February 5, 2013
A group of St. Louis, Missouri, citizens recently voiced their concerns to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over thousands of tons of nuclear waste buried in a local landfill they believe is seeping into the area’s water supplies.
A story released by KSDK News stated that during the 1970s, around 8,000 tons of nuclear waste, including uranium, thorium, and radium, was buried in the Wet Lake Landfill. Exposure to these elements can result in Environmental Injuries that include:

• Thyroid Cancer
• Birth Defects
• Leukemia
• Lymphomas

Recent testing in the St. Louis-area showed that as many as 25 water wells contained high levels of radium. Exposure to the radioactive material could affect as many as 300,000 people who receive their drinking water from the Missouri River, which is only a short distance from the landfill. A high water table in the area only compounds the problem.
Despite the recent findings, the EPA has decided to conduct more testing to determine the risk of exposure before issuing any decisions.
In the meantime, citizens are calling for air quality testing after concerns were raised over potentially high radon levels that could be seeping into the air from the contaminated ground.
The St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyers with CofmanTownsley Injury Lawyers recognize the dangers exposure to such toxic chemicals could cause and encourage anyone who has been negatively affected by exposure to radioactive elements to contact an attorney immediately to discuss your legal rights.