Contaminated Missouri Creek Will Get Radiation Hazard Signs
Coldwater Creek in suburban St. Louis has exposed generations of children to radioactive material left after World War II, the Missouri Independent reports. Meanwhile, the EPA's data on the Ohio train derailment is said to obfuscate contamination levels.
Missouri Independent:
Missouri’s Coldwater Creek To Get Radioactive Waste Signs
Federal officials plan to post warning signs along a contaminated suburban St. Louis creek where generations of children were exposed to radioactive material. Coldwater Creek, which winds between homes and parks in St. Louis County for 14 miles before meeting the Missouri River, is plagued with nuclear waste left over from World War II. For decades, families had no idea the danger it posed to the children who played along its banks and swam in its waters. More than six years ago, a federal study found residents who live near the creek or regularly came in contact with its waters faced a higher risk of certain cancers. (Kite, 9/24)
AP:
EPA Data Make It Hard To Know The Extent Of The Contamination From Last Year's Ohio Derailment
The way the Environmental Protection Agency has reported its test results since a Norfolk Southern train derailed and officials released and burned chemicals that spewed a toxic cloud over East Palestine, Ohio, makes it hard for residents to know the full extent of contamination and potential risks to their health. Data analyzed by The Associated Press show the EPA doesn’t provide a specific measurement for chemicals that fall below a reporting limit, making it harder to know how much is there. (Funk, 9/24)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Chicago Tribune:
New Center For Organ Donors Is First Of Its Kind In Illinois
Tucked away behind unassuming double doors on the fifth floor of Rush University Medical Center sits a new, very different type of medical unit. It’s a unit for patients who will save lives, even though they themselves have no hope of survival. The Gift of Hope Organ Donor Care Center at Rush is the first of its kind in Illinois. (Schencker, 9/25)
CBS News:
Partnership Brings Mammograms To Western Pennsylvania's Rural And Underserved Communities
A week before the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Pittsburgh-area leaders are addressing the gaps in rural and underserved communities when it comes to breast health care for women. Local leaders are working together to bring more access. On Tuesday, that meant transporting people to screenings from places like food banks. Republican Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward knows firsthand what it's like to have breast cancer. While she caught it early, others are not as fortunate. (Linder, 9/24)
The Texas Tribune:
Appeals Court Says Texas State Fair Can Ban Guns
A newly created state appeals court denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton request to temporarily block the State Fair of Texas’ policy banning all firearms from its fairgrounds as the event is set to start Friday. (Salinas II, 9/24)
KFF Health News:
California Governor Signs Law Banning Medical Debt From Credit Reports
Californians with medical debt will no longer have to worry about unpaid medical bills showing up on their credit reports under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, adding the nation’s most populous state to a growing effort to protect consumers squeezed by unaffordable medical bills. (Castle Work, 9/24)
