Weldon Spring is one of the original Manhattan Project Locations that processed uranium for Mallinckrodt Chemical Works from the 1950‘s through the 1960’s. The site was originally operated by the Atlas Powder Company during World War II from 1941 to 1945 to produce explosives. The Atomic Energy Commission acquired part of the property in 1955, and Mallinckrodt, Inc. processed uranium ore from 1957 to 1966 under contract. The site has been divided into several parcels, and ownership has transferred over the years. Two portions of the original property are now Superfund sites that require substantial cleanup efforts.
The surrounding community was found to have been contaminated with ionizing radiation in the 1980’s. Remediation activities were initiated, resulting in a 42 acre site that contains 1.5 million cubic yards of radiotoxic materials.
Once contaminants are identified in community water sources, the potential for long-term health effects from exposure to chronic low level ionizing radiation through ingestion increases dramatically. Uranium has a half- life of 4.5 billion years and actually becomes “hotter” over that time period! Ingestion occurs when ground water becomes contaminated, leaches into fertile soil and is taken up into local vegetation. This can then be ingested in several ways humans… by eating fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, eating small game, farm animals or dairy products that have ingested contamination. Ingested radio-toxic substances seek out bone and soft tissue, and mutate DNA. Radiation builds up in the body over time.
Chasing Answers: Did Weldon Spring Make Us Sick
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“The mission of this group is to organize, find answers, determine liability and seek health care and compensation.”
Weldon Spring
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Clip of “The First Secret City” Movie
by Carolyn Bower,
Former St. Louis Post-Dispatch Reporter
The First Secret City
by Allison Carrick and C.D. Stelzer
“A documentary that first revealed the radioactive legacy of the Manhattan Project on the St. Louis region.”
The Right to Answers: Nobody Knows Why the Babies are Dying Near Weldon Spring. But the Grownups Can’t Help Asking Whether the Site’s Toxic Stew is to Blame
Riverfront Times
Jeannette Batz
March 07, 2001
Nuclear Waste Adventure Trail
Caves, Caves & Graves
October 24, 2013