Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) led discussions and toured nuclear-damaged sites in the St. Louis region with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Administrator, Lee Zeldin. Administrator Zeldin pledgedto Senator Hawley that his agency would finally begin cleaning up the decades-old radioactive waste still afflicting Missourians since the Manhattan Project at the West Lake Landfill.
Senator Hawley first hosted a round-table discussion with Administrator Zeldin at Bridgeton City Hall, featuring survivors and advocates within the St. Louis area who have directly or indirectly suffered the effects of the government’s radioactive waste. From there, the Senator and Administrator toured the West Lake Landfill and Coldwater Creek, areas the government has slow-walked remediation.
Administrator Zeldin’s trip comes after he initially pledged to Senator Hawley that he would visit St. Louis’s radioactive sites in person, as step one in remediating Missouri. Senator Hawley again called on his colleagues today to pass hisRadiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to make victims of radiation whole.
Background
Senator Hawley has been the leading voice in fighting to obtain compensation for radiation victims in Missouri and across the nation.
Senator Hawley recently reintroduced his bipartisan RECA bill to compensate Americans exposed to radiation by the federal government’s nuclear programs. Last Congress, the Senate passed Senator Hawley’s legislation twice with overwhelming bipartisan support.