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St. Louis, Missouri is uniquely situated in the nuclear disarmament movement as a result of the clear, visible, and tangible harms nuclear production has caused to the city.
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, located in St. Louis, was the original processor of uranium ore for the United States’ early atomic production between 1942 to 1957. After running out of space at the original St. Louis location, waste from this plant was stored at a 22-acre site adjacent to the St. Louis Lambert International Airport. After uranium ore was processed and stored, the waste produced as a byproduct was left unattended. This eventually led to toxic waste spillage into the surrounding areas of St. Louis, most notably Coldwater Creek.
In the 1960s, the waste was purchased by Saint Louis Hazelwood Interim Storage Site, which then dried the waste to prepare it for shipment. In 1973, an effort by B&K Construction to clean up waste led to the illegal dumping of toxic soil into the West Lake Landfill. This toxic soil remained there until 2010, when alarming odors alerted the public to the problem.
In the 1950s, a landmark study, dubbed the St. Louis Baby Tooth Study, focused attention on radiation exposure from nuclear fallout in the area. The study was directed by Dr. Louise Zibold Reiss under the Greater St. Louis Citizens’ Committee for Nuclear Information (CNI), with assistance from Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University. Researchers collected baby teeth from children around St. Louis, then conducted an analysis that revealed the presence of radioactive strontium-90. Following the publication of the study—along with a U.S. public health survey that indicated an increase in underweight live births and childhood cancer—President John F. Kennedy negotiated the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty between the U.S., USSR, and UK, which banned nuclear testing or explosions underwater, in the atmosphere, or in outer space. However, the treaty permitted underground testing, provided the debris remained within the territory of the testing nation. This treaty paved the way for the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, highlighting St. Louis’s crucial role in developing international nuclear weapons policy. Today, the Weisskopf Lab at Harvard University’s School of Public Health continues the important work of the St. Louis Baby Tooth Study, aiming to deepen public knowledge on the impacts of nuclear fallout in St. Louis.
Many of the strides made in waste cleanup and anti-nuclear advocacy in St. Louis can be attributed to the efforts of Just Moms STL. The organization is a nonprofit group “formed to unite and organize against a harmful superfund radioactive waste site from the Manhattan Project in our community.” The organization’s goal has been to educate the public about the threats of nuclear waste in St. Louis and equip affected citizens with the tools to protect themselves and work towards a cleaner, safer future. These efforts include creating educational materials, organizing rallies, informing the public about national policy, and publicizing the ongoing threats leftover nuclear waste poses to St. Louis.
In March 2024, the U.S. Senate passed S. 3853, a bipartisan bill to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). RECA, originally passed in 1990, sought to compensate individuals living with health complications due to nuclear exposure. The 2024 expansion extended eligibility to include Missouri. After the expansion of RECA, Just Moms STL shifted its focus to making the RECA application process “as clear and accessible as possible” for any and all impacted residents.
Despite St. Louis’ long history of efforts to combat these problems, the negative consequences of nuclear waste continue. A 2025 study, conducted at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, found that children who lived near Coldwater Creek were more likely to be diagnosed with cancer, and a correlation showing that the closer one lived to the creek, the more dramatic the rates. Today, an underground fire rages approximately 1000 feet away from the stored radioactive waste near the St. Louis airport, and there is no designated plan for how residents should proceed if the fire reaches this waste. While the St. Louis County government has attempted to prepare an evacuation plan, no national governmental bodies have been responsive.
St. Louis is an epicenter of the ongoing threats nuclear waste poses today. The tangible effects felt by the residents of St. Louis highlight the necessity for the continued fight against nuclear weapons. The work of St. Louis’ activists on both national and international policy clearly highlights the key role cities play in shaping this movement, and provide a model for other cities on how to make a clear impact of their own.
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Featured Resolutions
Public Meeting Summaries
RESOLUTIONS
Limited Test Ban Treaty
1963
This treaty is a declaration of intent on behalf of the U.S., the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the USSR to restrict nuclear proliferation in accordance with the United Nations’ objectives. This treaty is aimed at moving towards the discontinuance of all test explosions of nuclear weapons for all time. The treaty restricts these nations’ ability to test nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in outer space, underwater, or in any area outside the state’s territorial limits.