Nuclear waste, kids, and a cover-up: here’s what happens when the government doesn’t care.
The Army Corps of Engineers refused to test for radiation at a school that sits in a toxic floodplain. Why?
It shouldn’t, but it continues to astound me how little our elected officials care about our health.
The latest egregious example? The news that “significant radioactive contamination" was discovered at a St. Louis-area elementary school. The danger was so great that within days, the school district shuttered the building.
The contamination shouldn’t come as a surprise, since the school sits near a creek known to contain nuclear waste. The US Army Corps of Engineers has been working to clean up this creek for two decades. Why has it taken until now to discover these same toxins at a nearby school?
Blame bureaucracy.
Decades ago, World War II-era nuclear waste was dumped near the banks of Coldwater Creek, which flows into the Missouri River.
Situated at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, the St. Louis region experiences regular flooding.
Did no one consider that radioactive materials could contaminate the water when the creek overflows? And did it concern anyone that Jana Elementary School is situated right in the Coldwater Creek floodplain?
The government agency spearheading the cleanup effort did not. Corps Program Manager Phillip Moser claimed testing the elementary school did not fall within their rigid criteria.
That’s why concerned families sought the help of a private company, Boston Chemical Data Corp., which tested samples taken on school property this past August.
Disturbingly, Boston Chemical’s newly released report revealed toxic waste more than 22 times the expected level on Jana's kindergarten playground, and more than 12 times the expected level by the school's basketball courts. Inside the building, contaminated dust particles were also found in the library, classrooms, kitchen and HVAC system.
Rather than expressing concern that these students and faculty might become severely ill from this radioactive exposure, government bureaucrats appear to be more concerned about their jobs and reputations.
Moser had the gall to stand by his decision to not test on school property, citing stringent Corps guidelines on testing locations. He also expressed doubt in Boston Chemical’s findings, stating, “I already have concerns about the conclusions”.
Wouldn’t the unusually high prevalence near Coldwater Creek of cancer, tumors, birth defects and autoimmune diseases be reason enough to test a school?
What matters more than the safety of our most vulnerable citizens?
It’s as if government red tape is wrapped so tightly around these bureaucrats that it’s paralyzed them; hindering their ability to make reasonable, humane decisions, and from standing up to asinine policies.
Sadly, the radioactive waste at Jana Elementary is just one instance of the government dropping the ball when it comes to protecting its citizens’ wellbeing.
Example after example demonstrates the lack of government regulation when it comes to toxins that, unbeknownst to us, seep into our bodies and at worst, could be deadly.
Here are a few:
· Deadly E. coli outbreaks from (even organic!) leafy greens, due to the poor regulation and overproduction of factory farm waste. Cow and pig excrement literally seeps into irrigation systems for the fields that grow these vegetables, which to our detriment, we often eat raw.
· Pesticides outlawed in the EU – whose use is encouraged by our Environmental “Protection” Agency. Despite thousands of lawsuits alleging their link to cancer, these pesticides are used so widely in the US that scientists have detected particles in our air and rainwater.
· High fructose corn syrup, a ubiquitous ingredient in foods with added sugar, contains a naturally occurring sugar literally used by bears preparing to hibernate. Fructose suppresses signs of fullness and optimizes fat cell creation. Unsurprisingly, this causes obesity and fatty liver disease in humans - yet our government continues to not only allow - but to subsidize - its production.
We are a country founded by deeply religious pilgrims in search of freedom. So what happened to our government’s moral compass?
In other words, why are officials duping us into thinking these toxins are safe, instead of aggressively seeking economically solvent alternatives and solutions?
It may sound cynical, but a simple answer is because people and governments are motivated by incentives, and too few encourage the government to protect our health. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, when powerful healthcare, agriculture, and other lobbyists convince them (with large sums of money) to do otherwise.
Of course, greed runs rampant within private corporations as well. But with a free market, there’s room – and opportunity – for the good ones to succeed, whereas within the government ranks, bureaucracy often prevents this.
It’s time we give the private sector the opportunity to achieve what our government has so miserably failed at. Let’s incentivize companies that innovate, rather than awarding subsidies for sub-par performance.
When it comes to regulation, what if private companies were incentivized to do a better job than the FDA and EPA?
The Army Corps of Engineers has been attempting to rid Coldwater Creek of toxic waste for decades. With the proper reward and promise of future contracts if successful, it’s likely that a private company would have already gotten the job done.
One thing’s for sure: if a private company were still cleaning up toxic waste in the same spot for 20 years, they’d have been fired long ago.