St. Louis County health officials say they will hire researchers to study illness rates among residents near a creek that was contaminated decades ago by nuclear waste.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the St. Louis County Health Department will hire three researchers to study chronic disease and cancer rates.
Researchers will focus on the area near Coldwater Creek. Residents near the creek reported high rates of cancer in a survey that caught the attention of federal, state and local health officials. Residents say diseases are prevalent among people who graduated high school in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Health Department director says the county needs to validate and investigate the residents' reports. A 2013 Missouri Health Department study found no higher risk of cancer for people living near the creek.