Black St. Louis residents are demanding justice as they argue that the U.S. Army sprayed dangerous chemicals in their neighborhood in the 1950s without their knowledge. Per NewsNation, the residents are specifically speaking out against the Army’s use of zinc cadmium sulfide, which contains carcinogenic substances, in the St. Louis housing complex of Black Pruitt‑Igoe. While the government argues that the chemical is harmless, advocacy groups say it was a dangerous experiment that brought serious health issues and other consequences to the community.
Why did the Army spray chemicals in a Black St. Louis neighborhood during the Cold War?
The government admitted that the Army sprayed the chemicals in St. Louis in an effort to mimic Moscow’s environment during the Cold War. St. Louis was chosen as one of the cities for the experiment because the city is similar to Moscow in terms of population density and terrain, NewsNation reported.
Spraying chemicals from planes, rooftops and cars, the government conducted the test in St. Louis and about 30 other cities in the U.S. and Canada. James Caldwell, a St. Louis native, recalls the tests he witnessed during his childhood.
“It was a regular flatbed truck, but it had a big machine on the back, and it had a big nozzle that sprayed a fog. You couldn’t even see through it; it was that thick, and it would adhere to our skin,” Caldwell told NewsNation. “And as far as the guys on top of the buildings, they tried to portray them to us as maintenance workers, but what are the maintenance workers doing in a hazmat suit? They had masks and goggles.”
Cecil Hughes, another St. Louis resident, said she remembers getting sick from the chemicals: “My momma had to take me to the emergency room,” Hughes said.
Residents are taking their complaints to Congress
St. Louis residents are demanding justice; Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., is among the elected officials who are listening to the residents’ concerns.
“When American citizens have been impacted and exposed to chemicals because — specifically because of the federal government — I think that we should, as Democrats and Republicans, we should all do the right thing and make certain to make these folks whole again,” Bell told NewsNation. “Get them the compensation they deserve and the treatment that they need and also deserve.”
One of the key steps for the residents is to prove that they have been affected by radiation exposure. Ben Phillips is among the residents who are fighting to prove how he and many others were affected.
“My parents’ friends started dying,” Phillips told NewsStation. “I went to 10 funerals, and about seven or eight of them were cancer-related deaths.”
Phillips added that he lost his hearing because he had a tumor removed from his left eardrum. He also said his sister was struggling with convulsions as a baby.
How is the government responding?
In response to NewsNation, the Army pointed to a study conducted by the National Research Council in the 1990s. Per the Army, the study shows that the test in St. Louis didn’t cause a health risk. However, NewsStation also revealed another part of the NRC study, which concludes repeated exposure to zinc cadmium sulfide can cause health issues such as bone toxicity or lung cancer. Additionally, the NRC study was incomplete because it relied mostly on data provided from the Army, NewsNation reported.
