Joe Holleman
Political correspondent/columnist
As her stint in Congress comes to a close, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, is celebrating the installation of warning signs along Coldwater Creek in north St. Louis County.
“After years of relentless advocacy, and alongside members of our community, the official installation of signage along Coldwater Creek marks a critical victory in our fight for public health and safety of our communities,” Bush, who leaves office Jan. 2, said in a statement Friday.
The signs stem from Bush’s legislation, proposed more than two years ago, that require signage along Coldwater Creek that warns residents of the dangers of radioactive waste exposure.
The installation, which kicked off last week, urge people not to dig near the creek. The signs will remain in place until the areas are cleaned up by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. The Corps previously said it expects the creek to be cleaned up by 2038.
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The radioactive contamination in North County and other parts of the St. Louis region is a legacy of the nation’s atomic program during World War II, when Mallinckrodt Chemical Co. processed massive amounts of uranium ore for the development of atomic weapons from 1942 to 1957.
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.
