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This article is the first part of a two-part series exploring the impact of nuclear waste contamination in Coldwater Creek on the community in St. Louis, Missouri. The second part will be featured on “CBS Evening News.”
When Linda Morice and her family settled in St. Louis in 1957, they were unaware of the hidden dangers that came with their new home. Over time, however, a troubling pattern began to emerge as more people in the area became ill.
“It was a slow, insidious process,” Morice recounted, reflecting on the changes that she witnessed in the community.
Following the passing of her mother, Morice received a sobering message from her uncle, a physician: “Linda, I don’t believe St. Louis is a very healthy place to live. Everyone on this street has a tumor.”
The family lived near Coldwater Creek, a 19-mile tributary of the Missouri River, which meandered through their neighborhood, close to playgrounds, schools, and cemeteries. This stream, however, was polluted from decades of hazardous waste, with nuclear refuse leaking from abandoned barrels and open dumps.
“It was shocking to realize that this creek could be making people sick,” Morice stated.
Starting in 1942, St. Louis became a significant site for uranium production, contributing an estimated one ton of uranium per day for the Manhattan Project—a covert initiative aimed at developing the first nuclear weapon.
The waste generated during this period was carelessly discarded throughout the city. “That material was in 82 different spots in St. Louis County. It spilled everywhere. Children played in it. There seemed to be a lack of thorough investigation into this issue,” Morice noted.
Within Morice’s own family, the toll of cancer was heavy, with her mother, father, and brother all succumbing to the disease. This history has led her to reassess her childhood experiences. “All those fun times happened, but during that same period, we, along with the rest of the community, were exposed to extremely hazardous materials,” she reflected.
Her husband, a fellow resident of the area, is currently battling cancer. He is under the care of urologic oncologist Dr. Gautum Agarwal, who has documented the backgrounds of his patients in relation to Coldwater Creek. “I’ve been seeing younger patients developing serious cancers from areas known for nuclear waste contamination,” Agarwal stated.
Although radiation exposure is a well-documented risk factor for cancer, experts like Agarwal emphasize the complexity of linking specific cases directly to contamination. Nonetheless, a 2019 study by the Department of Health and Human Services indicated that individuals who lived or played near Coldwater Creek from the 1960s to the 1990s “may be at an elevated risk of developing lung cancer, bone cancer, or leukemia.”
“The residents in that area deserve a more thorough investigation into these health concerns,” Agarwal asserted.
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