ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Advocates for cleaning up nuclear waste in the St. Louis area are wondering what is next after the Missouri House approved a bill for a radioactive waste investigation fund.
The unanimous vote on the Missouri House floor was 152 representatives coming together to investigate the soil, dust and groundwater in areas with nuclear waste.
“We want to educate. We want people to be informed. I’m not trying to lower property values; I’m not trying to scare people away, but I do think that we need to inform people,” said Rep. Richard West, District 102.
Lawmakers close to the subject hope the vote is a wake-up call to the elected officials in Washington, D.C., about the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.
“I am hoping that maybe a little piece of our story and all of our broken hearts matter to congress this time. Maybe they can support Senator Hawley’s RECA,” said Rep. Tricia Byrnes, District 63.
Five Senators reintroduced the bill back in January but are still waiting for a vote.
Senator Hawley’s office sent the following statement to FOX 2:
“This move by the Missouri House shows the importance of passing RECA now. For too long, Missourians have been poisoned by their own government. The U.S. Senate has passed the bill twice. The Trump administration has now committed to work to clean up radioactive waste in the St. Louis region. It’s time for Congress to pass RECA and send it to the President’s desk,” Hawley wrote.
The RECA bill includes 20 Missouri zip codes, meaning people who lived in the affected areas for at least two years and have one of the specific diseases listed in the bill could receive compensation if the bill passes.
“I believe that the federal government is ultimately responsible for footing the bill here. This isn’t our waste; this isn’t our problem,” said Rep. Doug Clemens, District 72.
The Missouri lawmakers said that while the federal government continues the cleanup of nuclear waste, they’re hoping the state bill will wake people up.
“They don’t know that they are sitting in poison right now, that they’re raising their kids in poison,” Clemens said.