For some north St. Louis County homeowners, the prospect of exposure to the area’s decades-old radioactive contamination is only one source of concern: Another is what to do with their homes, which could struggle to attract buyers.
“They didn’t anticipate buying a house or renting a house in a community that has a legacy of radioactive waste from the 1970s,” said Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City. “Who would buy a home like that?”
[…]
The bill applies to homes that have been deemed uninhabitable by a “federal or state environmental or health agency” owing to contamination the resident is not responsible for.
Homeowners would also be eligible for buyouts if they live within a 1.55-mile radius of any area where at least 20 percent of samples by the Environmental Protection Agency or U.S. Geological Survey show radium in groundwater to exceed maximum contaminant levels.
The legislation is Chappelle-Nadal’s latest effort geared toward radioactive contamination in the area. In the vicinity of Bridgeton’s West Lake Landfill — which contains radioactive waste dating to the time of the Manhattan Project — Chappelle-Nadal says the bill would apply to residents of the 91 homes comprising the Spanish Village neighborhood and a nearby mobile home park.
Read more at Buyouts coming for homeowners near West Lake Landfill?
