Atomic Waste Left Kids From This US Town At Greater Cancer Risk
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A new study has shed light on a shocking radiation-related health risk in Missouri.
According to the research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, children who lived near Coldwater Creek— a tributary of the Missouri River north of St. Louis— during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s faced an elevated risk of cancer due to pollution from nuclear waste associated with the development of the first atomic bomb.
The findings, according to the researchers, validate long-standing concerns voiced by community members.
The study's publication coincides with Congress having passed an expanded version of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), as part of the Trump tax bill, which will allow Americans, including residents near Coldwater Creek, to receive compensation for medical bills related to radiation exposure.
Radioactive waste barrels.
Radioactive waste barrels.
vchal/Getty Images
Low-Level Radiation Impacts
Most previous studies on radiation exposure have concentrated on individuals with very high levels of exposure, such as atomic bomb survivors. However, much less is understood about the health impacts of lower levels of radiation, which the new study aims to address.
Researchers used a subsample of 4,209 participants from the St. Louis Baby Tooth–Later Life Health Study (SLBT), which included many individuals who lived near Coldwater Creek as children and began donating their baby teeth in 1958 to measure radiation exposure from atmospheric nuclear testing.
The participants' self-reported cancer incidences allowed researchers to calculate cancer risk based on their proximity to Coldwater Creek in their youth.
The study's findings revealed a dose-response effect, meaning, individuals living closest to the creek exhibited a higher risk for most cancers compared to those residing farther away.
Out of the 4,209 participants, 24 percent of the study population reported having cancer—higher among those living nearer to the creek. Specifically, 30 percent of those living less than 0.6 miles away reported cancer, compared to 28 percent for those 0.6–3.1 miles away, 25 percent for those 3.1–12.4 miles and 24 percent for those more than 12.4 miles away.
Among those that lived less than 0.6 miles away from the creek, the risk of developing solid cancers was 52 percent higher. For radiosensitive cancers, which include thyroid, breast, leukemia and basal cell cancers, the risk rose to 85 percent higher.
"When comparing those living around the creek or its floodplain...with those living further than 20 km [12.4 miles] away, the association with cancers known to be radiosensitive during childhood was stronger than that of nonradiosensitive cancers," the researchers wrote in their study. They concluded that the findings "suggest that childhood residential proximity to Coldwater Creek is associated with an increased risk of cancer, likely through radiation exposure associated with the creek."
The implications of the study are timely given growing global discussions around nuclear power and development.
Paper author and environmental epidemiologist professor Marc Weisskopf, said in a statement: "As countries think about increasing nuclear power and developing more nuclear weapons, the waste from these entities could have huge impacts on people's health, even at these lower levels of exposure."
Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about radiation? Let us know via health@newsweek.com.
Reference
Leung, M., Tang, I. W., Lin, J. J. Y., Mucci, L., Farmer, J. G., McAlaine, K., Mangano, J. J., & Weisskopf, M. G. (2025). Cancer Incidence and Childhood Residence Near the Coldwater Creek Radioactive Waste Site. JAMA Network Open, 8(7). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.21926
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