Remediation work along Coldwater Creek, in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, last year shifted for the first time since efforts to remove soil contaminated with radioactivity began in the area in the 1990s.
On Thursday night, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ District of the Army Corps of Engineers — the agency conducting the cleanup through its Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program — is set to hold its first public meeting since the shift occurred.
The meeting, conducted annually to provide updates on work in the area, will be at the Hazelwood Civic Center East, at 8969 Dunn Road in Hazelwood. It will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Since July, the cleanup work in residential areas has focused on properties along Palm Drive in Hazelwood. During that span, “an additional area of contamination was found north of the original contaminated area at Chez Paree Apartment Complex,†according to the corps. Remediation in that area began late last month and should take about three months for completion.
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The corps says it is “extremely pleased†with progress, overall.
“Drawing on lessons learned from remediation in nearby parks, our team developed a plan that allowed us to complete remedial excavation in less than a month, lessening the impacts on residents,†Bruce Munholand, FUSRAP program manager, said in a statement.
Thursday’s meeting is also the first since the documentary, “Atomic Homefront,†last week.
The film looks at the history of radioactive waste in North County, both along Coldwater Creek and at nearby West Lake Landfill — a separate site in Bridgeton, where a is being mounted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“The film has raised a lot of concern for people near and far who grew up in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County and are just finding out about the radioactive nuclear weapons waste legacy of the region,†said a statement from Coldwater Creek — Just the Facts, a volunteer community group following the issue.
The group has mapped suspected cancer clusters of people who lived near Coldwater Creek decades ago, and group representative Kim Visintine said that 2,000 new people have reported illnesses to them since the documentary’s on-air première.
This story was first published online on Feb. 20.Â