ST. LOUIS – A new two-part series from “CBS Evening News” has brought renewed attention to decades-long concerns of nuclear waste contamination at Coldwater Creek and its devastating impact on St. Louis-area families.

The contamination stems from uranium production during the Manhattan Project, a World War II-era effort that occurred in the St. Louis region. When leftover nuclear waste was later disposed, it found way into Coldwater Creek, a 19-mile tributary of the Missouri River that runs through neighborhoods, schools, and parks.

Over the last few years, national reports have surfaced suggesting that the federal government downplayed and failed to fully investigate the risks of nuclear waste contamination that stemmed from the Manhattan Project.

In its first of two reports, CBS Evening News focused on the story of Linda Morice, a north St. Louis County resident whose family was severely affected by cancer.

Morice’s family moved to St. Louis in 1957, unaware of dangers lurking in their backyard. Over the years, Morice lost her mother, father and brother to cancer, all believed to be tied to long-term exposure to nuclear waste at Coldwater Creek.

“It was a slow, insidious process,” Morice told CBS. “All that time, all those fun things were happening, but that whole time we, and the rest of the community were being exposed to some pretty dangerous stuff.”

Urologic oncologist Dr. Gautum Agarwal told CBS he has seen an unusually high number of aggressive cancers in people who grew up near the creek, something he has been tracking closely in medical reports.

“I was seeing patients who are young, who had developed pretty significant cancers from areas that there’s been some contamination with nuclear waste,” said Agrawal.

Morice also recalled a chilling comment from her physician’s uncle, who once warned, “Everyone on this street has a tumor.”

The waste wasn’t limited to one site. CBS reports that it spread across 82 different spots in St. Louis County, including places where children played and families lived unaware of risks.

This isn’t the only time nuclear waste around St. Louis has caught national attention either. In recent years, environmental investigation consultants have pointed out radioactive contamination at Jana Elementary School in north St. Louis County. There are also prolonged concerns about the West Lake landfill in Bridgeton and a former uranium plant site in Weldon Spring.

Efforts to secure compensation for victims of radioactive contamination through U.S. Congress have gained some momentum in the past, including a push from a local advocacy group Just Moms STL, but legislation on the matter has not passed as of April 2025.

Just Moms STL, a vocal forced behind the push for accountability, shared the CBS story to their social media pages with the caption: “This is why we need RECA!”

Missouri U.S. Josh Hawley has been a major proponent of swift action at Coldwater Creek, repeatedly urging Congress to recognize St. Louis-area radioactive contamination victims and fund their care.

According to previous Associated Press reports on FOX2Now.com, cleanup of Coldwater Creek isn’t expected to finish until 2038, though the Army Corps of Engineers believes the worst of the contamination has been removed.

Part II of the two-part “CBS Evening News” special on Coldwater Creek airs Wednesday evening.