Last summer was the first time Missourians exposed to radioactive waste could apply for compensation.
They include many St. Louis-area residents affected in the 1970s by waste left over from the Manhattan Project — a top-secret federal government program established to create the world's first atomic bombs during World War II.
While more $122 million has been approved for payouts through the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, parents whose children died after living near the waste don't get to see that money.
Grieving mothers search for justice for their daughters
The walls of Cindy Whitman's home are covered in colorful photos of her late daughter, Victoria Dawn. "She loved orcas, dolphins, sunflowers," Whitman, 62, said. "Her nieces made all these pictures, and I put them up."
She pointed to photos of Victoria on the beach holding her fingers in the formation of a heart above her head, and others of Victoria with family members and friends.
The photos help keep Victoria's memory alive, Whitman said. She died at age 25 in 2020 after more than a decade battling two forms of leukemia. An unidentified fungus had also developed on her lung that puzzled doctors and led to the partial removal of one of her lungs.
Whitman and her family lived near the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton from 1999 until 2004, before eventually moving to Maryland Heights.
The West Lake Landfill is a 200-acre site where the Cotter Corp. illegally dumped radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project.
The waste remains at the toxic waste site, though efforts to begin cleanup are ramping up. The Environmental Protection Agency plans to start excavating waste from the landfill next year.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced in February that it would also begin demolishing homes near Coldwater Creek in Florissant in an effort to clean up contaminated soil below their foundations. Waste from uranium processing in downtown St. Louis contaminated Coldwater Creek, a 19-mile tributary of the Missouri River in north St. Louis County.
Whitman, like many others, said she had no idea about the toxic waste at the landfill when she lived in Bridgeton. Her family played outside often.
Kirbi Pemberton, 54, lost her 12-year-old daughter, Kirstee, to a cancerous brain tumor in 2004. She too lived near the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton.
"My kids grew up playing at Bridgeton Ballpark, which is directly across the street [from the West Lake Landfill] playing in the dirt. We spent our life doing stuff [outside], never had a clue," Pemberton said.
Pemberton went on to become an advocate for site cleanup and advocate for the government to take responsibility for its toxic waste in Missouri. She said the emotional toll of losing her daughter has been heavy.
"The sad, sick thing about it is her tumor is one of the 27 confirmed from ionizing radiation, and is typically found in 60-year-old men," Pemberton said.
So when the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was expanded to include 21 Missouri ZIP codes last summer, both Whitman and Pemberton applied for compensation.
They said the response they received was shocking and disappointing. Parents can't apply on behalf of deceased children, and childhood leukemia is not covered either, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
"I don't think it's right for us parents when you don't have your daughter here anymore, or your son, and you still can't do nothing about it," Whitman said.
Why can't parents apply?
Hundreds of Missourians who lived near the West Lake Landfill and Coldwater Creek have applied for payouts through RECA over the last year.
Under it, individuals who developed certain diseases after being exposed to radiation from the U.S. nuclear weapons program can receive up to $50,000. And their surviving spouses and children can apply to receive up to $25,000. But as it stands, parents can't apply for any compensation on behalf of their deceased children, according to the Department of Justice.
When asked why, a department spokesperson stopped short of providing a clear answer. They said the department is merely implementing the law set by Congress.
"This limitation is not present in Manhattan Project Waste claims submitted while the qualifying individual is living, or in claims under RECA's Downwind, Onsite Participant and Uranium Worker provisions," the department said in an emailed statement. "In such claims, Section 6(c)(4) authorizes payments to the spouse, surviving children, surviving parents, surviving grandchildren, and surviving grandparents."
That means the DOJ will consider applications from parents if their qualifying child is still alive, but not if they're deceased.
So Whitman and Pemberton don't qualify, even though they both lived in the qualifying Bridgeton ZIP code when their children fell ill and now live in Maryland Heights, another qualifying ZIP code.
The law also doesn't cover kids who have leukemia, like in Victoria's case. The DOJ states that individuals with leukemia must have had initial exposure starting at 20 years old and contracted the disease at least two years after first exposure.
Dr. Laura Schuettpelz, a pediatric oncologist at Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children's Hospital, said that leukemia is the most common form of cancer in children and that it's hard to pinpoint a specific cause.
"[It's caused by] genetics, bad luck, and probably a compilation of other minor contributions from environmental factors that we don't understand yet," Schuettpelz said.
Dawn Chapman, co-founder of advocacy group Just Moms STL, has been on the front lines of the fight to expand RECA. She said, so far, it doesn't appear the DOJ has been approving any leukemia applications.
"When you see people online saying, 'I've been waiting since September, October for my claim — we think that a lot of those are leukemias, and that's both good and bad," Chapman said. "It's bad because [you're] making these people wait, but it's good because it means they haven't made a decision yet."
She said that after more than 10 years pushing for RECA expansion, they are fighting "tooth and nail" to add more ZIP codes and beneficiaries. Her Just Moms STL co-founding partner Karen Nichels said looking out for the children is what led them to push for change in the first place.
"Originally, this fight started for our own kids and trying to protect our kids, and to find out that a lot of our friends that had lost their children due to this exposure weren't going to be covered under RECA, it was a blow to us."
Expanding RECA
The RECA program last expired in June 2024 but was revived and expanded in July 2025 following efforts led by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri.
The list of eligible areas added included ZIP codes across St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County. A ZIP code in the Metro East that also contained a factory that processed uranium and thorium did not make it, however.
"Senator Hawley's office continues to work to get as many Missourians covered by this program as possible," Hawley's office said in a statement. "We encourage all those who require help to call our RECA hotline at 202-228-4388."
But advocates say continuing to expand RECA is an uphill battle. Christen Commuso, a policy specialist at the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, said the work required is hefty.
"It would just be us going out there presenting these other ZIP codes [and] presenting why and how they were part of the Manhattan Project and why they should be included, but it will take an amendment to the law," Commuso said.
Congressman Wesley Bell, D-St. Louis County, recently introduced a proposal to amend RECA and expand it to include more Missouri ZIP codes, including 63106 and 63107.
"The government's failure to safely handle nuclear waste poisoned our neighborhoods, and survivors deserve compensation," Bell said. "This isn't just about dollars, it's about the accountability, recognition, and the basic right to live free from the harem of environmental injustice."
Missourians can apply for RECA compensation through December 2027. In the meantime, the fight to expand the law continues.
Whitman said for her it's not about the money, it's about justice.
"I would go anywhere just to get justice for my daughter and for Kirstee and all the other children that are getting sick because of [toxic waste]," Whitman said. "It hurts. I hate it. I hate it for the families that are going through what me and Kirbi went through."
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