U.S. Representative Ann Wagner (R-Ballwin) has apparently had a change of heart after bemoaning the price tag for compensating north county residents exposed to radioactive nuclear waste. Wagner has signed onto a letter urging Congress to adopt a bill to help those impacted by radioactive waste in St. Louis.
St. Louis companies were a key part of the Manhattan Project in the 1940s. Mallinckrodt Chemical Works processed a majority of the uranium needed for the building of the first atomic bomb at their plant north of downtown next to the Mississippi River.
The echoes of this radiation still haunt north St. Louis County today, leaving some residents with a host of health problems. An investigation led by the Missouri Independent and published in the RFT last year found that the private companies and federal agencies handling and overseeing the waste “repeatedly downplayed the danger despite knowledge that it posed a risk to human health.”
Legislators and advocates have been fighting to compensate those exposed to the radiation for years. Last week, legislation that would reauthorize the Radioactive Exposure Compensation Act and would expand health benefits to those affected in St. Louis passed the Senate, led by U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri).
On Monday Wagner, joined by Rep. Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) signed on to a letter urging Congress to include the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act in the upcoming spending package.
“Unfortunately, the long-term ramifications of the federal government’s atomic research continue to harm Americans today far beyond the scope of current law,” the letter says. “RECA’s authorization is currently scheduled to sunset on June 7, 2024 and this program must be renewed and reformed.”
Wagner’s signature to the letter follows criticism from Hawley, who slammed her on X (formerly known as Twitter) for comments she made to the Kansas City Star.
Wagner told the Star she supports helping those exposed to the radioactive waste, but she also complained of the high price tag on the bill.
“We’re just not looking to raise our deficits and debts any further than they already are,” Wagner told the Kansas City Star. “So there needs to be a legit pay-for on this.”
“Shameful for Ann Wagner to turn her back on her constituents - after doing nothing on this issue for years. St. Louis deserves better than this,” Hawley wrote above a screenshot of Wagner’s comment.
The letter signed by Bush and Wagner says the spending would help people in 21 Missouri ZIP codes.
“This legislation would not only reauthorize RECA, but also expand benefits to residents, workers, and students of twenty-one Missouri ZIP codes in and around where the federal government discarded radioactive waste, the letter said. “These benefits would include compensation for documented out-of-pocket medical expenses for specified diseases such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and certain cancers. Benefits would also be extended to the beneficiaries of deceased individuals.”
President Joe Biden’s administration issued a letter in support of the reauthorization of the act. Now that it has passed the Senate, it moves to the House.
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