BELLEVILLE 鈥 While it served as a monumental win for Missouri residents who鈥檝e long argued for their inclusion in a federal compensation program for radiation exposure, the Metro East didn鈥檛 make it in the latest expansion passed by Congress.
Passed as part of the 鈥淥ne Big Beautiful Bill鈥 that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, residents of 21 ZIP code areas in 最新杏吧原创, 最新杏吧原创 County and St. Charles County are now eligible to seek $50,000 payments through the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, known as RECA.
However, residents of Venice, Madison and Granite City will again be stuck waiting to be included in the fund for people with radiation-related illnesses tied to Manhattan Project-era nuclear bomb making, after their single Illinois ZIP code didn鈥檛 make it in the final bill. The latest action by Congress serves as yet another example of the Metro East victims going unnoticed in their fight for compensation.
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鈥淭his small group of people here in Venice and Madison in Illinois have been left out once again,鈥 said Larry Burgan, a former employee of the factory that processed uranium and thorium and a longtime advocate for RECA. 鈥淚n part, I believe it鈥檚 because of their status, where they stand in life: They鈥檙e a poor Black community.鈥
Larry Burgan, of Granite City, seen here in 2010.
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, has continued to push for the inclusion of the 62060 ZIP code into the federal legislation, but she鈥檚 been unable to convince her colleagues.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to take away the fact that there was some progress made: getting restitution, getting compensation for people that very well deserve it,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut I think there are others that were left behind.鈥
Despite being snubbed by Congress, Burgan feels optimistic that the community that surrounds the factory that straddles the Venice and Madison municipal boundary could eventually make it into future legislation. After all, RECA had sunset last year prior to being revived in this latest legislation, he said.
鈥淣ow, we may not be included, but at least it is back and it is helping someone: the residents over in Missouri,鈥 Burgan said. 鈥淪o, no, I can鈥檛 feel bad about it. I can feel bad the residents over here were left out, but I鈥檓 glad they brought this back from retirement.鈥
The importance of the single Illinois ZIP code鈥檚 inclusion stems from that factory鈥檚 contract with Mallinckrodt Chemical Works to process radioactive metals in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The cleanup of the site wasn鈥檛 finished until 2007, according to government records.
While former employees of the site have been able to seek government assistance, the residents who live around it haven鈥檛 been eligible for compensation.
An informal survey done by Burgan and fellow advocate Calvin Ratliff starting in 2009 found 368 cancer cases among residents in a six-block radius of the factory. No government agency appears to have formally documented the cancer rates or health outcomes of residents in the community surrounding the plant.
Budzinski wonders if the expansion of RECA to places like Missouri played a role in helping get enough votes to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill by small GOP margins in Congress.
鈥淚t was a backroom deal made to, I think, bring on board the support of senators that had been previously probably holding out their support for the bill,鈥 Budzinski said.
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, had previously expressed deep skepticism about the legislation, saying cuts to Medicaid would cause his constituents to lose health coverage and rural hospitals would close. However, Hawley ended up voting for the bill.
鈥淚t just seems coincidental, or not coincidental, that it benefited some of the senators that were holdouts,鈥 Budzinski said.
The 21 Missouri ZIP code areas added to RECA were 63031, 63033, 63034, 63042, 63043, 63044, 63045, 63074, 63102, 63114, 63121, 63134, 63135, 63138, 63140, 63145, 63147, 63304, 63341, 63368, and 63367.
ZIP codes in Alaska, Kentucky and Tennessee were also added to the compensation program.
When asked about future expansion to states like Illinois, Hawley, who鈥檚 championed Missouri鈥檚 inclusion in RECA in recent years, recently expressed interest.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 more work to do, and we鈥檙e happy to look at it site by site,鈥 Hawley said last week when celebrating RECA鈥檚 expansion.
Illinois wasn鈥檛 the only state to miss out on RECA鈥檚 expansion. Pennsylvania, Ohio and Washington had been included in previous legislative proposals. U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, D-最新杏吧原创 County, also said he鈥檇 like to add two ZIP codes in 最新杏吧原创.
鈥淲e need to kind of come together with other like-minded districts, other like-minded states, that might not have been included in this first reauthorization and just fight together,鈥 Budzinski said. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 solidarity in numbers. We鈥檙e not alone. We鈥檙e not the only zip code that deserves to be included and was not.鈥
After all his advocacy for the former employees and residents of the Metro East harmed by radiation, Burgan said he鈥檚 learned an important lesson: You can鈥檛 help everyone all at once.
鈥淚f we could do it piecemeal and work our way to it, hopefully, maybe Congress could include this small group of residents over here in Illinois,鈥 he said.
Editor鈥檚 note: This story was published by the Belleville News-Democrat and distributed by Tribune News Service.
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