US Senate approves Josh Hawley's nuclear waste compensation measure - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

US Senate approves Josh Hawley’s nuclear waste compensation measure
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, spoke Thursday, March 7, 2024, for passage of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to approve a measure to renew and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which provides government payments to people who were exposed to radiation from atomic testing or uranium mining.

The measure, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, passed by a vote of 69-30 with 20 Republicans and all but two Democrats voting in favor. Its prospects in the House are uncertain.

Save RECA families and— Alan He (@alanhe)
@HawleyMO celebrating after the Senate voted 69-30 to reauthorize pic.twitter.com/v48BahVaHW March 7, 2024

RECA, first passed in 1990, already covers people who were residents of Utah, Nevada and Arizona at the time of nuclear testing and uranium mining during World War II.

But the measure that won final approval Thursday adds a number of new sites, including in Missouri, where uranium ore was processed for the Manhattan Project.

“We’re ecstatic,” said Dawn Chapman, a co-founder of Just Moms STL, a group of activists who closely track north St. Louis County’s legacy of radioactive waste issues. “The bill is great.”

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Among those who likely will benefit are current and former St. Louis-area residents who were potentially exposed to radioactive waste produced by Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, which worked under contract to the Manhattan Project, the developer of the world’s first atomic bombs, which destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Some of Mallinckrodt’s waste was stored at sites near the airport in north St. Louis County where it eventually contaminated areas along the Coldwater Creek watershed; some of that waste was later taken to and buried at West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton.

In Weldon Spring, some people who developed cancers blamed exposure to Mallinckrodt’s uranium processing there from 1957 to 1966.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Hawley spoke of the sacrifices “working people” made in service of the nation.

“The government exposed them over a period of decades to nuclear radiation and waste, and in almost every case did nothing about it. In many cases lied to them about it.”

He continued, “It is the pride of our nation that when we won the Second World War, when we won the Cold War, we rebuilt the lands of our former enemies. I’m proud of that as I ever have been. But now it is time to rebuild these communities. It is time to finish the work in the United States of America. It is time to turn to the men and women who have borne the brunt of the battle.”

U.S. Sens. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, and Ben Ray Luján, D-New Mexico, co-sponsored the bill and spoke Thursday in support.

The U.S. Senate last year added the measure, co-sponsored by Hawley and Luján, to the National Defense Authorization Act. But the language, which was not part of the House version of the defense bill, was stripped from the final bill in conference committee.

The law, if it passes the House and is signed into law, will provide compensation to individuals who resided in certain affected areas and had a medical condition linked to nuclear radiation exposure. Living individuals could get at least $50,000; surviving spouses, $25,000.

In the St. Louis area, the bill provides that people who seek compensation would have to document that they were “physically present in an affected area” — defined by 21 ZIP code areas — for at least two years after Jan. 1, 1949.

In addition, they would have to provide evidence of a “specified disease,” including certain kinds of cancer, leukemia, multiple sclerosis, and lymphoma.

Affected ZIP code areas, which cover most of north St. Louis County, the north riverfront area of St. Louis and a large swath of St. Charles County anchored by Weldon Spring, are 63031, 63033, 63034, 63042, 63045, 63074, 63114, 63135, 63138, 63044, 63121, 63140, 63145, 63147, 63102, 63304, 63134, 63043, 63341, 63368, and 63367.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order in 2022 extending RECA for two years, but it expires in June. Hawley’s bill would extend the law for five years and expand coverage to include people in Missouri as well as Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alaska and Guam.

“The states that we got added are great,” said Chapman, who was in the Senate gallery for the vote.

She said that activists visiting Washington — not only from St. Louis, but from places around the country affected by radioactivity issues — have been busy meeting with lawmakers to push for the bill.

Entering Thursday’s vote in the Senate, Chapman didn’t expect the measure to receive more than 63 or 64 votes — a good margin below the 69 that it finished with.

“It came out way better than we thought,” said Chapman, who saw the vote as an encouraging sign, as attention now turns to the bill’s chances of passing the House.

“We’re optimistic, based on the yes votes that we didn’t expect today,” she said.

The White House indicated Wednesday that Biden would sign the legislation if it reaches his desk.

“The President believes we have a solemn obligation to address toxic exposure, especially among those who have been placed in harm’s way by the government’s actions,” the White House said in a statement.

The measure likely faces an uphill battle in the GOP-led House. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, is among those pushing for the measure.

Advocates for the bill who traveled to Washington for the vote said it represents hope for them and their families as they have been burdened with medical costs.

Christen Commuso, who works for the advocacy group Missouri Coalition for the Environment, said she has dealt with many health issues, including thyroid cancer, and has had to at times ration her care because it is so costly.

“It’s not about putting money in my pocket,” Commuso said. “It’s about providing me the ability to get the care that I deserve and need.”

Bryce Gray of the Post-Dispatch and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Coldwater Creek's issues with radioactive soil begin with work done near downtown St. Louis for the Manhattan Project during World War II. We summarize the concerns about the creek and how radioactive material contaminated it.