最新杏吧原创

The Army Corps of Engineers confirmed Wednesday that it had discovered what it described as 鈥渓ow-level鈥� radioactive contamination from thorium 230, a uranium decay product. It has likely been on the properties for decades, carried by a creek that flows through several miles of subdivisions in north 最新杏吧原创 County.

It is the first time in more than 15 years of Corps-directed cleanups in the region that the government has confirmed radioactive contamination on residential properties.

鈥淲e鈥檝e spoken with those homeowners and let them know what we鈥檙e dealing with and what the risk is,鈥� said Corps spokesman Mike Petersen. 鈥淲e have discovered it in backyards, which is not too surprising based on what we鈥檝e found along Coldwater Creek. There鈥檚 a lot of this contamination that has spread over the years.鈥�

Petersen said he did not have an exact number of properties with confirmed contamination because some samples are still being validated. Where it has been found, it鈥檚 several inches under the soil surface and isn鈥檛 dangerous unless it is exposed.

鈥淚n the near term, it鈥檚 low risk,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e told them don鈥檛 dig, we鈥檙e going to come out and restore the ground with clean fill soil.鈥�

Most of the affected properties are along Palm Drive, located in a subdivision just northeast of Lindbergh Boulevard and Interstate 270. The Corps is still testing there, Petersen said, and it plans to begin testing properties along Alma Drive, St. Cin Lane and Foxtree Drive nearby.

It could be months before the Corps cleans up the properties because of other contaminated sites and limited federal funds.

Since 2013, the Corps has been remediating Coldwater Creek, which was contaminated with uranium processing waste stored at sites near Lambert-最新杏吧原创 International Airport. The Corps is also cleaning up a site north of downtown 最新杏吧原创 where Mallinckrodt, a former chemical company that now makes medical products, used to process uranium for the Manhattan Project and the early nuclear program.

鈥淲e have not had confirmation that we actually had radionuclides in people鈥檚 backyards,鈥� said Jenell Wright, who lived in the area near the creek for almost 30 years and sits on a panel overseeing the cleanup. 鈥淭his is massive.鈥�

But she and others who have pushed for more testing along the creek鈥檚 floodplain aren鈥檛 surprised.

鈥淲e were hoping maybe they would prove us wrong,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淯nfortunately our worst fears are being confirmed.鈥�

The Corps operates the Formerly Utilized Remedial Action Program, or FUSRAP, to identify and remove radioactive waste from the early nuclear weapons program. It has identified radioactive contamination on private commercial property near the airport, but this is the first time it has found contamination on residential properties.

鈥淚t鈥檚 alarming for a lot of homeowners,鈥� Petersen said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been working on this project since 1997 and a lot of folks don鈥檛 know it because it wasn鈥檛 literally in their backyard.鈥�

The Corps says it has removed the source of the contamination from a site near the airport, where the government allowed uranium processing waste to be stored. It plans to follow Coldwater Creek all the way to the Missouri River looking for contamination that spread during flooding.

In late June, the Corps told Hazelwood residents it , a portion of Duchesne Park and some Archdiocese property adjacent to St. Ferdinand Cemetery.

It is in the process of cleaning up St. Cin Park and Petersen said it will move on to cleaning up residential yards after that. It could be nearly the end of the year before work starts, though Petersen said he wasn鈥檛 sure on timing.

Petersen said the Corps understands that 鈥渋t sounds very alarming鈥� when Corps representatives tell homeowners parts of their yards are radioactively contaminated. But he said 鈥渢here鈥檚 nothing on the surface that we鈥檝e found鈥� that would pose a high risk.

鈥淲e鈥檝e taken the homeowners out and shown them where we鈥檝e found it so they know,鈥� he said.

Wright noted that when Coldwater Creek flooded while she was growing up, it would cause sewer backups into people鈥檚 basements, and she suspects some contamination could have entered there. She also noted that development in the area may have moved contamination beyond the creek鈥檚 floodplain.

She and others have begun tracking cancer rates in former residents, and she said two of her friends recently died. One was in his 40s.

All of this work was not in the original FUSRAP cleanup budget, Wright said. As the Corps continues to test more property along the creek and follow the trail of radiation, she said Congress needs to step up with more funding. The Corps is doing a good job, she said, but a backlog of cleanup projects could continue to grow without the budget.

鈥淲e have a huge problem,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey understand they鈥檙e at the tip of the iceberg.鈥�

The Corps will host a at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Hazelwood Civic Center East at 8969 Dunn Road to discuss the cleanup. 最新杏吧原创 County Health Department Director Faisal Khan is also expected to update residents on a cancer survey his department is conducting.

Editor's note:聽The story has been updated to clarify that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began testing and remediating radioactive contamination along Coldwater Creek in 2013. They have been cleaning other sites in the region for over 15 years.