Moms Fight to Clean Up Thousands of Tons of Nuclear Waste in St. Louis (Exclusive)

Moms Fight to Clean Up Thousands of Tons of Nuclear Waste in St. Louis (Exclusive)

Honored to be featured this week in @people magazine! @KarenNickelSTL and I are proud of what we have built and our fight, even though it has cost us and our family/kids/husbands so much! https://t.co/nNWjgDa6KX

— Dawn Chapman (@DawnChapmanSTL) August 15, 2024

The first warning sign was the stench that seemed to fill the air of Dawn Chapman’s suburban St. Louis neighborhood in 2012.

“You could smell burning, but there was something different about it, like jet fuel,” she says in this week's issue of PEOPLE. Her three children started to wake in the night with irritated eyes or bloody noses caused, she believes, by the caustic fumes.

By January 2013 Chapman, then a full-time mom, had discovered the source of the overpowering odor: a fire in an underground quarry at the Bridgeton Landfill about two miles from her home.

A photo taken in 1960 shows deteriorating steel drums containing radioactive residue in the St Louis area. 

State Historical Society of Missouri, Kay Drey Mallinsckodt Collection

The blaze raised fresh alarm about a decades-old issue — how much atomic waste had been stored in the region post-World War II, with some radioactive material mixing with a local creek and, separately, 43,000-plus tons of it piling up at West Lake Landfill, which is next to Bridgeton Landfill.

Article continues:

Dawn Chapman (left) and Karen Nickel wear protective masks at the West Lake Landfill outside St. Louis on June 1, 2017. 

Linda Davidson/The Washington Post via Getty

For more on Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel's fight to clean up nuclear waste in their St. Louis suburb, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe.

Their suburban dream was tainted by toxic remnants of the country’s wartime past. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. chose St. Louis as one of the places to process the uranium used in the nation’s atomic weapons program the Manhattan Project.

In the decades that followed, the resulting radioactive waste was dumped close to the city airport, and contaminants washed into nearby Coldwater. In the ’70s the waste was moved to the West Lake Landfill, amid single-family homes in Bridgeton. In 1990 the landfill was designated a Superfund site — one of the nation’s most contaminated areas.

Many residents were none the wiser. Nickel grew up in the ’60s and ’70s playing softball in the parks beside Coldwater, where years later scientists would discover Manhattan Project-era radioactive material in the soil.

Nickel and Chapman (center, in Washington, D.C., in May) lobbying for support for what they say are victims of radioactive exposure. 

Just Moms STL

“Fifteen people on my street passed from rare cancer in their 40s and 50s,” she says.

Three of her four adult children, whom she raised with husband Todd in a house less than two miles from the landfill, live with neurodevelopmental challenges, she says. And Nickel has lupus, an autoimmune disease she blames on exposure to radioactivity.

Chapman and her husband, Brian, moved to the Bridgeton area in 2000, unaware of the history. In 2002 her husband learned he had Crohn’s disease.

continues: https://people.com/is-nuclear-waste-poisoning-this-missouri-suburb-how-2-moms-teamed-up-for-answers-even-if-they-die-trying-8695532

Department of Defense Phytoremediation Failure

The readers of this blog have a better understanding of advanced phytoremediation systems than it looks like the Department of Defense has.  

Guest Scotty, from St. Louis - Electro-Phytoremediation Process 8-22-2016

Updated information after phone conversation with person planning phytoremediation project to use hemp to phytoextract toxins from soil.

Is this the video you mentioned? https://youtu.be/pVVWcd9bXrA  the video below explains why not everyone should be able to do this UNTIL the system is proven safe.

   I am not afraid of exposing corruption and shortsightedness everywhere I find it.  

I'll be doing another radio interview this coming week sometime about the electrohemp system.

Lonnie Simpson is interviewer. She's anti nuke, understands plight of downwinders being exposed to contamination and all the health issues.

She mentioned the latest stuff I've pieced together that is wanted by Dept of Defense in re to uranium is dangerous for my safety. I'm not worried or scared and I'm going to share this to the world. (In addition to I have found a buyer in the health industry for the decontaminated material)

If you researched EPA suggestions you'd realize they have a goal of turning toxins into cash to offset remediation costs.  My end disposal options do this in 2 or more ways. Instead of the costly glass infusion you mentioned.

https://www.epa.gov/risk/calculating-preliminary-remediation-goals-prgs

Preliminary Remediation Goals for Radionuclides (PRG)

FYI: Paul with Fungi Perfecti informed me: mushrooms will decontaminate nuke rads, but mushrooms still need to be picked up and disposed of [or else the contamination will be reintroduced back into the environment].

Here's the info I shared with the World Wide Hemp group I'm a part of.


 https://facebook.com/HempEnvironmentalForum/?

Lonnie also clued me in on the grant writer who won't consider the organic remediation disposal vs nuke ind suggestions.


It should be pretty interesting interview. She's hip to the nuke ind tactics / shortsighted activist etc.


Fyi: i am not going to mention your name or location but I am going to expose what I feel is shortsighted science because you won't or haven't researched a true solution on this issue.


I'll send more info when we hash out an interview time and where to view it.

Peace,
Scotty

ElectroHemp in Top 40 BALSA Foundation StLouis startup assistance

Dear BALSA Grant Applicant- Electro Hemp, 

Good news! We are writing to let you know that your application has successfully passed our preliminary screening and is now being evaluated by a panel of reviewers. 

We had over 70 applications this BALSA Grant round, and your application was one of the top 40 which went on to the review stage. After the reviews are finished we will select the BALSA Grant finalists. 

We will provide feedback from reviewers and let you know if you’re a finalist within two weeks. Please note that all finalists will be required to attend one pitch practice session in late February 2018, as well as the awards ceremony during March 2018. 

More details to come. Congratulations again on making it to the review stage and best of luck in your business endeavor. With best wishes, The BALSA Foundation Team

Our Mission and Vision

“The BALSA Foundation’s mission is to promote social equity and prosperity in the St. Louis region by empowering first-time entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses. We fulfill this mission by (1) maintaining an online, step-by-step guide to starting a business, (2) providing free feedback from experts to anyone with a business idea, (3) providing cash grants, mentorship, and donations of professional services to first time entrepreneurs who need and will benefit from them the most.

Our vision is a St. Louis community that embraces first time entrepreneurship as a gateway to social change.

The BALSA Foundation 

ElectroHemp BioRad Remediation Pilot Study Discussion

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Discussions have begun about a Pilot Study Location for the ElectroHemp BioRad hazardous waste removal system. Stay Tuned for more details and see the announcement at the Hemp Environmental Forums Facebook page

#phytoremediation with #electrokinetics speeds up the toxic removal process. < this is nothing new. > But what is new is the organic disposal system for the toxic plants that eliminate Long Term Nuclear Waste Storage! Rememeber its our Tax Dollars that pay for this. Eliminating this part of the nuclear waste storage will save the USA Taxpayers multi-million dollars.

ElectroHemp BioRad Remediation Pilot Study Location Discussion https://t.co/mAySxxTJtW #WestlakeLandfill #NuclearWaste #Remediation

— Scotty (@StLHandyMan) September 19, 2017

Also shared to LinkedIn

ElectroHemp BioRad LinkedIn Post Notice

How Hemp Can Clean Up Radiation From Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

How Hemp Can Clean Up Radiation From Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Hemp plants were shown to be effective in cleaning the soil around the site of Russia’s Chernobyl nuclear disaster and were even considered for use near Fukushima.

ElectroHemp Natural and Organic Hazardous Waste Treatment

“As a proven, valuable tool in the fight to repair human-inflicted damage to our soils and ecosystems, hemp could potentially benefit hundreds of thousands of sites across the globe—it is estimated that in the USA alone there are 30,000 sites requiring remediation. As is so often the case, US restrictions on hemp cultivation preclude any large-scale operations from being implemented, and the contaminated sites are largely left unremediated, through lack of both funding and interest on the part of the government.”

Citizen Science Phytoremediation Research StLouis

Citizen Science Research  Phytoremediation Project

Toxins and Contaminants are removed the Natural Way by using Plants in a process called Phytoremediation.

Article 3 Plants as Water Protectors blog series

Article 5- Phytromediation Rafts with Electrokinetics

Article 4- Plants as Water Protectors

Article 3- Citizen Science Phytoremediation Research StLouis

Article 2- St Louis IKEA Phyto Buffer Zone pt2

Article 1- IKEAs lesser known environmental project

Project Location: Lemay Ferry Road 63125 Google Map Location.  Plants used in the phytoremediation system, stop the contaminants from the Automobiles and Buildings along Lemay Ferry Road before they enter River Despair at the bottom of the hill. River Despair flows into the Mississippi River a few miles down stream.

Phytoremediation Citizen Science Map Lemay Ferry Rd River Despair StLouis MO

Natural Contamination Toxin Removal by Phytoremediation

Scotty Citizen Science Phytoremediation Research Tweet

This is not the only phytoremediation buffer zone in StLouis. I have previously shared the IKEA buffer zone: IKEAs lesser known environmental project and St Louis IKEA Phyto Buffer Zone pt2 

A phytoremediation buffer zone is just what is needed at the Westlake Landfill.

Alex Cohen St Louis Public Radio Interview: When Scientist Lie, People Die

I mentioned this situation in the ElectroHemp proposal I submitted to MoDNR and EPA Region 7 while attending the Bidgeton Landfill Community Meeting where I took this popular Google Local Guide photo .

Just recently the Missouri Department of Natural Resources released a document that showed the nuclear contamination traveled from the landfill in the rain storms of 2016.

The Nuclear Waste Contaminants are spreading into the community: 

"Stormwater from just outside the fence line of the West Lake Landfill complex, the dumping ground for Manhattan Project-era radioactive waste, contains a variety of radioactive isotopes, according to test results released late last month by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The sampling of stormwater overflow, conducted on April 30 as heavy rains pounded the region, found levels of alpha particle activity that exceed the threshold allowed for drinking water. Uranium, radium and gross beta readings all registered within acceptable limits for drinking water, which the department used as a comparative baseline because of its stringent standards. StLouis Post Dispatch "

Dawn Chapman shared the MODNR latest fings as well:

Dawn Chapman added a photo in West Lake Landfill.

Dawn Chapman June 30 at 4:44pm **Important** Radioactive Alpha particles found by the State of MO DNR in Storm Water from this past Spring above safe levels (MCL's) Storm Water runoff was tested on April 30, 2017 for radioactive particles by the State of MO and the results released confirm that they were found. Levels of gross Alpha particles were above MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level). Now, ONLY after the results came back above MCL, they are going to test for Thorium isotopes. While we are glad the State of MO stepped in to test, it is upsetting that Thorium is still being ignored. For those who are new to this situation, this waste has sat on the surface of the landfill for almost 44 years....so you can only imagine what 43+ years of storm water runoff looks like and where it has all gone. To add insult to injury....EPA CONTINUES to say no rad. waste has left this site! The State of MO's test results do NOT support this conclusion! "Results for gross alpha exceeded MCLs, and could not be fully attributed to Radium and Uranium results, therefore analysis for isotopic Thorium was ordered. Those results will be posted when available. All data has been shared with EPA." https://dnr.mo.gov/bridgeton/docs/20170430StormWaterResults.pdf **Important** Radioactive Alpha particles found by the State of MO DNR in Storm Water from this past...

Why is this a big deal you may ask? 

The Cancer Clusters of StLouis is the reason.

St Louis Cancer Cluster Map wording copied from USARMY / ACE - FUSRAP documents

If you would like to learn more about the ongoing catasphrope in StLouis that is killing my neighbors a new film just debuted recently and has won and award or two!: Atomic Home Front

Atomic Home Front Facebook Page

The Age of Fission Lonnie Clark guest Scotty - Phytoremediation Pr...

Philanthropist Entrepreneur Startup Kills Radiation Organically
Lonnie Clark-The Age of Fission, interviewing Scotty and
the ElectroHemp BioRad process and system that removes 
heavy metal toxins organically. 

Healthy Environments Require Citizen Scientists

The recent email from the USDA.blog is a perfect example of how everybody can and is making a difference in creating a healthy environment by actively partaking in Citizen Science activities.

A couple of interesting points were made and really jumped out and encouraged me to share this message to everyone who is being negatively affected by the environmental warnings that happen in Nature.  

Simple fact: if it negatively affects the natural environment- it also negatively affects you and your health.

- "Organizations rely on so-called best available science for management decisions....the best Scientific Information does not necessarily come from peer-reviewed scientific publications"

The full article that appeared in the 

Citizen Science is Sound Science Provided by You

Posted by Stephanie Dromerick, Ecosystem Management Coordination Intern, U.S. Forest Service, on August 19, 2016

Argonne scientist Cristina Negri talks about phytoremediation

EPA Scientist Ms Cristina Negri shares information about ‪#‎Phytoremediation‬ which is using plants to cleanup mankind's pollution. Although this video is talking about Trees. There are other plants that can do the same thing that don't have to wait for a tree to grow-such as a fast growing ‪#‎IndustrialHemp‬.

One advantage a tree does have is the roots will go deeper than the roots of a Hemp plant that go 6 feet deep.

In a nutshell different plants cycle the toxins differently. I feel it is best to utilize a few types of plants to accomplish the cleanup activities needed. One of the discoveries the ‪#‎ElectroHemp‬ BioRad Phytotechnology advancements the Team ( David Wechsler, Kimberly Kowalski, and myself) have discovered is that by growing plants in a Greenhouse will enable a wider variety of plant species to be grown "All Year Long" in addition to eliminating the chance of the toxic plant material from entering the food chain, being eaten by an animal, and inadvertent human contact.

The ElectioHemp BioRad Hazardouse Waste digesters and disposal system (see other posts) is how the plant material is disposed and turned into NON TOXIC plant matter that does not require long term storage of the hazardous materials.

If you have any questions or comments about the system and process let us know and we will be happy to answer your questions.

Scotty

Thank You for stopping by the Green Blog. If additional information in needed or you have a question let me know by posting a question or comment. Together we can make a difference and create a future that will benefit everyone.

Using Trees to Clean Up Pollution Cristina Negri

Eye Opening Discussion on Phytoremediation- the stuff that was most appealing to me started at 31:00 and talks about phytoremediation of Heavy Metals and Nuclides: like the ones that are causing the cancer, respiratory issues, extra rare forms of cancer, lymphoma, etc for the Residents of St Louis Region.

DuckDuckGo Web Search

Cancer Cluster in North St Louis, MO

#ColdwaterCreek and #WestlakeLandfill

1. Presenter Instructs for Safety Keep It Out of the Food Chain [which is exactly the opposite that was done when Republic Services grew Soybeans on the landfill a few years ago and then took the soybeans to the local grain elevator]
2. At 31:00 part of discussion about Phytoremediation and Radionuclides.
1. 31:10 Radionuclides Stay where they are at, they don't degrade, you have to move them from one place to another.
2. 31:30 yes it will get into the food chain, uses Chernobyl for an example.
3. [talking about phytotechnologies and cleanup] She says: can’t get enough of it in one area to justify the expense. Bioaccumulation. Granted this is an older video from 2012 and many cleanup scenarios hopefully have changed and have acknowledged a few ways that Scientist have discovered to get the toxic radiation to bioaccumulate such as #Electrokinetics as used in the ElectroHemp BioRad Hazardous Waste Disposal Environmental Startup
4. She talks about Grass will phytoremediate the radionuclides because it was in the Milk from the grass the cows ate [Chernobyl] [Many plant species have the ability to phytoremediate the heavy metals and toxins- Industrial Hemp is a favorite and mentioned frequently at the Hemp Environmental Forum as well as the Kyoto Hemp Forum].
3. 32:15 Condensing Rads to one area is preferred [chalk one up for Electro Hemp who accomplish this by Electrokinetics]
4. 36:36 Q: What was working at Chernobyl? Listen to what she says about the people and the desperation “ No hope- because they were not in control of their lives” “Unsettling feeling”.
5. 38:33 Q: Future of phytoremediation.
6. 39:00 "Invest money" "Keep Working" "No Recovery Is Made Without Funding"
7. 39:36 Ground Source Pollution removal works for plants
8. 39:54 Q: is it too much for large scale Fukushima radiation poisoning?
9. 40:12 A: All Depends...may well be the only choice for certain areas- phytoremediation once again solution for widespread cleanup...work with the [eco] system, you can't be digging everything up...
10. 40:54 Audience Questions start
11. 41:36 Wolves, Birds supposedly healthy? 1, 2, 3: I have read counter to that. The healthy animals that are seen in the Inclusion Zone are new animals that migrated in. Existing Animals have genetic defects per videos I've seen that didn't come from government sources, like the one with the Moose's neck growing out sideways of its body as well as the mutilated birds. [Radiation causes mutations and alters genes in plants and animals]
12. 42:39 Q: what to do with trees once they are cut down after phytoremediation? "Hyperaccumulation of toxins in the plants varies by the growing season. They don't expect the radiation to be in the tree and will mulch it onsite. With Heavy Metals contamination has to be measured before figuring out what to do with it. KEY: when utilizing plants there is less volume at the end. vs scoop, haul, and store. Its preferred that if storage is needed the smaller the mess the better.
13. 44:10 Q: Rapid Reuse of Sites with Heavy Metal Contamination- some sites cleaned up by various techniques: water, vapor...get the easy stuff. A: Metals tuff issue they need a solution for metals ...discussion just to leave them alone but need to measure the risk: leave alone or remove...discussion then goes on and states minimization of the toxins (depending on end use of land). With lead keep it away from kids... double stated Heavy Metals are very hard to remove... [ the guy who questioned her said someone then built a children's playground next to the site. Isn't that the airport site in #StLouis... the lady just shrugs? image map]
14. 45:59 Presentation Leader adds stuff on the first question: What are end goals in re to Mountain. Q: Primary objective- clean land, Secondary objective- beautification or Reuse. A: Eventual Reuse of land, with main objective to reduce Health Hazard to the people who might be exposed nearby- is the number 1 issue- Mentions: numerous studies to determine what is acceptable dose.
15. Phytoremediation for Fracking- been studied and discussed
16. Goes on to discuss removing coal ash by phytoremediation, hydrocarbons definately, problem with ash is the ph combinations that might not be compatible with plants.
17. In re to chicago river phytoremediation: how to use the specific plants in combination and how to design the system- have to get others involved...Wastewater Treatment uses a natural process using microbes.
18. 49:24 Q: Who are the teams/groups of people working on land remediation at Chernobyl. A: She then goes on to mention the needed team members for a multidisciplinary group: Agronomist, Environmentalist, Hydrogeologist- all work together to determine where to plant the trees. Risk Assessment Personal (Safety for personal), Air Modelers to determine what goes into the air and if it is an issue, and Money Managers.
19. 52:17 Mentions work done by a Naval person who developed plants that act as a canary in the coal mine. These plants turn white when exposed to nasty compound (type unknown). When planted around a site they would potentially warn everyone that the toxins are present.
20. 53:03 Q: where to get educated. Google Phytoremediation and go to EPA "Citizen's Guide to Phytoremediation" EPA is a strong proponent of this technique
21. 54:48 Q: Contaminants when translocated into the plant what happens? A: Some gets released, some is broken down in the plant-degraded, some, when transpired, is killed by UV light. Q2: Are some contaminants released into the atmosphere and we do not want that? A: majority of chemicals that make it to the air get broken down by sunlight...when it is exposed to air is very minute concentrations in parts per billion if not parts per trillion range- very very tiny amounts that will get destroyed, they don't accumulate up,
22. 56:24 Q1: Of the phytoremediation techniques that work has there be done a survey where it can be used at? A1: look at EPA gis data on brownfields, tools like decision trees will help figure out what is the best remedy for the land, Q2: Roundup because it kills weeds...A2: using roundup for no till farming has drawbacks and advantages

Update Sep 2, 2017 

Is this what happened to all the Milk they didn't use at Chernobyl? 

Diabetes & African-Americans https://t.co/imx6gVhA6s Update Sep 2, 2017
Is this what happened to all the Milk they didn't use at Chernobyl?

— Scotty (@StLHandyMan) September 3, 2017