>> byron: tonight, to north st. louis, potable communities living with contamination. >> we look at what happened in his posting. it brings me back to this issue in north st. louis. >> byron: the story of one missouri town fighting for cleaner. >> we don't know what to trust because the information is not transparent. >> byron: an elementary school closed after reports of radioactive contamination. >> it is a plague on our soci society. >> byron: the nuclear waste rooted in world war ii and a secret government project. >> i believe that it is the nation's turned to step up.

>> byron: those responsible for removing the waste. >> would i safeo nd their childre >> y. >> byron: an tamies who say they have already paid the ultimate price. >> you don't want to wish this on anyone's worst enemy. >> byron: in this special edition of "nightline," along the creek, we'll be right back. ♪then you take me by the hand♪ ♪i feel better again♪ ♪oh i feel better now♪ for people who are a little intense about hydration. neutrogena® hydro boost lightweight. fragrance-free. 48-hour hydration. for that healthy skin glow. neutrogena®. for people with skin.

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>> byron: good evening. thank you for joining us. we begin with the bol bol communities dealing with contamination. the tran11 in east palestine, ohio was an eye-opening event for some. the possibility of living long-term with has this race. of residents in one missouri town, it felt familiar. their plight goes back to world war ii, a secret government project that left nuclear waste behind. here is maria ♪ ♪ >> if i could describe it in one word, i would choose the word treacherous. >> 30. >> harmful. >> it has no contamination at all. they tested regularly and there's not. >> i would describe coldwater creek as concerning

[background conversation] >> how was recess? >> mireya: he called it home for most of his life. he has sent both of his kids to the same school that he attended as a boy. jan elementary. >> my daughter just lurched there. she felt like that was her home, a home away from home. >> mireya: in the summer of 2022 go to school districts sent a letter to the parents saying that low levels of radioactive contamination were found on the banks of a creek on the edge of the scope of his property. >> within that letter, it kind of illustrated with the potential plans were but nothing to be alarmed of. >> mireya: of the contaminations the remnants of waste that decades ago spilled into coldwater creek, a tributary of the missouri river that snakes across north st. louis and runs right behind the school. but then confusion, another

report release dominated the local news. >> reporter: we begin with community fear and worry. >> independent study found high levels of radioactive waste at the school, and it claimed there was contamination not just on the creek banks but inside of the building with radioactive lead dust found in the gym and in the boiler room. the school shuddered and students like jason's daughter wer redistricted. >> we don't know what to trust because the information is not transparent. >> mireya: the army corps of engineers insists the school is safe. but in march, 2023, the school board announced -- >> there is no expectation that general elementary will reopen. and as we look to the future, we are committed to supporting all of our students and staff and fully embracing their new school community. >> there is a reason why we had to shut down the school. what is that reason? >> mireya: the closing of

general electric resurrecting a decades long crisis. people here have been living with nuclear waste for generations. some battling cancer they say it was caused by the contamination. >> she is not going to see her boys grow up. >> mireya: others living in fear they could be next. all while a fierce debate rages over the storage and cleanup of waste. what level of radiation seems safe? across the country, catastrophes continue to happen. spewing waste. >> train derailment has spilled toxic chemicals. >> the question now, where to take the toxic waste. >> mireya: the train derailment in east palestine opening people prophesies to our vulnerabilities. but it is communities like this one who have already been living long-term with the consequences. >> when we look at what happened in east palestine, and the worry is that the residents there had, it brings me back to this issue

in north st. louis. >> mireya: the roots of this go back to world war ii during the manhattan project. >> factories over the nation, a heavy army protection, the first atomic bomb was a simple. >> mireya: the top secret government initiative to develop the world's fair's nuclear weapons including the atomic bomb. >> we think about how to understand nuclear protection. it is almost like an organism, a vast network that stretches through out the continental united states. >> mireya: and a chemical in downtown st. louis was the heart of that network. >> by july of 1942, they were producing 1 ton of purified uranium a day. >> mireya: after the bomb was dropped, that secret became a source of st. louis pride. but the city's patriotism was laced with consequences.

nuclear waste that needed to be stored. >> coldwater creek runs along the edge of the lot that was chosen to meet the storage area as runoff and wind would blow the materials large amount ended up in the creek itself. >> mireya: it was not until 1989 that the epa formally labeled parts of north st. louis county a superfun site. then in 1997, the army corps of engineers army corps of engineers tok tokyo lead dust tk the lead as part of the formally utilized sites remedial action program or whose wrap. >> we are charge with making sure that if there is contamination associated with those early activities that we find it and remediate it in accordance with our authority and records and decisions. >> mireya: they both worked on n the team leading the car's cleanup effort. that process is called remediation. so samples are tested in an on-site lab and any contaminated soil is identified, stuck up, and shipped to a facility in

idaho by rail cars. the army corps of engineers has until 2038 to finish the clea cleanup. how much has been cleaned up so far? >> over a million cubic yards. that is around 12,000 railcars. >> mireya: but the presence of radioactive material does not automatically mean a property will get cleaned up. >> we have a remedil -- those are thresholds. based on risk levels that are determined by federal agencies like epa to be protected. below that, we don't clean enough. >> that means there is contaminants there. >> correct. >> mireya: it just does not meet the threshold of being cleaned up by the program? what level of radiation seems safe. >> so that health hazard really has to do with risk and risk of cancer. radiation is everywhere. it is in our bodies. it is part of the earth. it is everywhere naturally. radiation and levels that are not acceptable, we find it and

we remove it. >> mireya: a report from the agency for toxic substance and disease registry found that children and adults who regularly played in or around coldwater creek or lived in its floodplain for many years between the 1960s and 1990s could have increased the risk of developing lung cancer bone cancer or leukemia. >> the coldwater creek something that we have been, we have taken over 34,000 samples, 4% of those have come back above average remediation goals. so the amount of contamination out there is relatively small. >> mireya: 4% might seem a small. but for the families that live here, some say the concern keeps them up at night. coldwater creek is unfortunately a plate that plagued on our society. and certainly, a huge monster to have on your kids' playground.

>> mireya: ashley has been the pta president and general elementary since 2018. she says that for years, she has been trying to get answers from the core and the hazelwood school district about whether the creek poses any risk to students. >> it is not just if i that we are fighting with the army corps of engineers. it is just the stresses for our kids and the community here. >> mireya: so in april 2022 with the help of kristin, lucio and the coalition for the environment, runoff filed a freedom of information information act or foia request. >> was not necessarily surprised by the results of the foil but motivated to get this out to the public and hold the army corps and the school district accountable. >> mireya: the foyer revealed that the school district had known about potential contamination for at least five months without making parents aware. in a letter sent in january of 2022, the court stated, there was a low-level radioactive contamination on the property located in the banks of

coldwater creek. but that it did not pose an immediate risk in its current configuration below ground surface. >> to find out the particular they were being present or harmed, that is terrifying. >> mireya: we reach out to the school district and were told they had no further information to share. >> i would like the army corps to be more upfront with the public as far as cleaning it up. they are doing a great job. it is the communication in. we just want you out here talking to us, understanding the people are scared. >> mireya: last fall, two additional reports independent of the core came out. one by boston chemical, a group working for lores building a class-action lawsuit. that study claimed to show elevated levels of radioactive lead in the school building. another by sei engineering who was hired by the school district determined the school was safe. after those reports, the corporate coach korn tested inside the school building. >> is that skule safe?

>> yes. absolutely. >> mireya: would it be safe enough to send their children there? >> yes. >> there is contamination of the creek bank. we are not denying that. it is underneath the ground surface. so right now, no one is being exposed. you have to come in contact with it to be exposed. >> to believe the army corps can make that assumption. that this soil is going to remain undisturbed. >> mireya: when we come back, the other communities living with waste. >> east palestine is only the tip of the iceberg. >> mireya: and the lawmakers demanding answers. >> our government has the responsibility for the safety and well-being of those students. i have moderate to severe crohn's disease. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up ♪ ♪ i've got symptom relief ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements at 4 weeks.

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♪ ♪ >> byron: we turn to east palestine, ohio, where that train derailment spilled toxic chemicals. half of the cdc team experience the same symptoms that residents reported there. >> reporter: the entire country has spent months watching what is happening in east palestine ohio where a train carrying combustible material recently derailed. really seen has this chemicals into the air, soil and water nearby. >> east palestine, it is only the tip of the s. we know there our communities all over the country that have large amounts of hazardous chemicals going through their towns every day. >> mireya: expert say it could be months or years before we fully know the harmful effects these chemicals could have on

residents. >> we need medical monitoring over a long period of time. the problems often don't occur until many years after exposure. >> mireya: for our representative cori bush, the situation in east palestine felt familiar. >> when we look at what happened in east palestine in the worry, it brings me back to this issue in north st. louis. >> mireya: bush represents north st. louis, a community that has been dealing with waste since world war ii. here, it is radioactive contamination from the city's role in the secret government-run manhattan project that helped build nuclear weapons during world war ii. of particular way for some residence in missouri is coldwater creek. >> i have talked to people who are the family members and loved ones of people who are no longer living and they believed that it was directly related to the fact that coldwater creek runs through their backyard. these folks have been advocating

for years. >> it is so big. >> mireya: documents. thousands and thousands. she meets regularly with karen and don, local moms and activists who are equally committed to raising awareness. >> i do think there is any safe level of the manhattan project radioactive waste. >> mireya: right right along the creek is saints and parked. which the army corps of engineers cleaned up back in 2015. and it is next-door to gerard a loss,. do you like coming here? >> not like i used to. age to come down. i would shoot baskets for a long time. mary returned, she walked in the past. at that time, we did not know what was in this park. >> mireya: jarard and his wife, america have lived here for decades, raising their two kids. >> she was four legs. she has always been, you know, high energy. >> mireya: nine is good ago --

nine years ago, mary was diagnosed with lung cancer. how do you think it happen? >> shortly after we moved here, mary started talking. we got this park. we would walk every night. >> mireya: was very ever a smoker. >> never. >> mireya: did cancer run in her family? >> no. or not you blame the creek? >> the contaminants, yes. >> mireya: they were part of a class-action wrongful death lawsuit against several companies associated with the creation and disposal of the nuclear waste. the company settled the lawsuit and a payment was divided between all the plaintiffs. the companies were released from all liability. before mary was in hospice, she tried to raise awareness. here should she is in an interview with cbs. >> you never forget the moment they tell you we found lesions on her pulling in your liver.

>> mireya: when we visited detroit, he was putting his days intending to marry. >> she still could get angry about it to this day. because she is not going to be able to see her boys grow up her grandbabies, you know, the youngest ones are not going to know her. that just kills her. >> mireya: at the missouri department of health found that locals had significantly higher rates of multiple types of cancer including leukemia, breast and kidney cancer compared to the rest of the state. >> we understand and feel for all the families. we can't undo what happened in the past. but what we can do right now is moving forward. finding the cam termination remediating it so that we can give them the peace of mind. >> mireya: they are on edge after contamination was found and general elementary. one of the community's schools.

one study showed contamination is high as 22 times the expected background level. the army corps of engineers acknowledges a low level of contamination on the nearby creek bank. but insists the school is safe >> low levels of radiation, for me, any level should not be okay. you know? why put our children into position to where there is the possibility of something that we don't understand versus putting them in an environment where we know that they are safe? >> mireya: bush has worked closely out with senator josh hawley. they were writing a letter demanding that all schools in the same district as janet be tested. >> i don't think it is too much to ask that the school district beginning with jana elementary put the entire school district get proper cleanup done. >> mireya: they sent a letter to the department of energy asking if all of their properties meet the qualifications needed for testing. in a statement to nightline, the department of energy said they referred the board to the u.s. army corps of engineers

st. louis district. which can determine if there is a basis for investigation of any or all of the his word school district properties. water cleanup process -- hazelwood school properties. water cleanup process continues, they are still waiting, waiting for answers and for a change. >> st. louis stepped up to save the nation during world war ii. and i believe that it is the nation's turn to save the st. louis. we want this wastewater out of our community and we wish -- we should not have to wait as long. >> mireya: stay with us. gena® rapid wrinkle repair® smooths the look of fine lines in 1-week, deep wrinkles in 4. so you can kiss wrinkles goodbye! neutrogena® i'm steve, i lost 138 pounds in nine months on golo and taking release. since taking release, my sleep is way better. my inflammation has gone way down.

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