Atomic Waste Tied to Cancer Risk --- New study examines health of people exposed to lower levels of radiation

“People who spent their childhood in the 1940s, '50s or '60s living near Coldwater Creek, a tributary of the Missouri River near St. Louis, grew up in the shadow of the atomic bomb.

 

Now, research suggests they faced a heightened risk of cancer, likely because of radiation exposure from the polluted creek.

 

As part of the Manhattan Project, uranium was processed in downtown St. Louis during World War II. The nuclear waste was then moved about 15 miles north for storage, and it leached into Coldwater Creek. The area is part of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program for places contaminated with radioactive materials from the nation's early atomic energy and weapons program.

 

In the years after World War II, the closer children lived to Coldwater Creek, the higher their risk for various cancers compared with those who lived farther away, according to a paper published in JAMA Network Open on Wednesday.

 

"The results I think were really persuasive," said Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, who studies radiation risk from medical imaging and wasn't involved in the paper.

 

"It emphasizes the importance of appreciating that radioactive waste is carcinogenic, particularly to children, and that we have to ensure that we have to clean up any remaining waste that's out there," she said.

 

The study is among the first to look at cancer risk among people who were exposed to lower levels of environmental radiation, as opposed to high levels such as those experienced by Japanese atomic bomb survivors, the researchers said.

 

Exposure to high doses of radiation is linked to a greater risk of leukemia, breast, bladder and other cancers, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

 

Nearby residents of Coldwater Creek have long expressed concern about the potential health risks. The U.S.'s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in 2019 said the contamination before cleanup activities could have increased the risk of leukemia and bone and lung cancer.

 

More recent exposures, starting in the 2000s, slightly increased risk of lung cancer for those who lived nearby.

 

But the predicted increase in the number of cancers was small, the agency said, and there was no foolproof way to link any person's particular cancer with the exposure.

 

In the new study, researchers tapped into an old database of people who lived near St. Louis as children between 1958 and 1972 and donated their baby teeth to help measure exposure. The researchers surveyed some 4,200 participants, now in their 50s, 60s and 70s, who self-reported their cancer incidence and other health questions.

 

About a quarter of the participants reported having cancer at some point. Those who lived less than 1 kilometer away from the creek had an 85% higher risk of cancers known to be linked to radiation, compared with people who lived 20 kilometers away.” [1]

 

1. U.S. News: Atomic Waste Tied to Cancer Risk --- New study examines health of people exposed to lower levels of radiation. Abbott, Brianna.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 17 July 2025: A3.