Documents unveil that Manhattan Project chemicals were improperly disposed of at Missouri sites, according to officials' knowledge.

In suburban St. Louis, several moms have been working to clean up toxic sites, despite government officials allegedly covering up the widespread contamination for decades.

St. Louis kept the Manhattan Project a secret, and it's still a well-kept secret, according to Just Moms STL co-founder Karen Nickel.

Nickel formed her group alongside her neighbor, Dawn Chapman, in 2013.

Nickel stated that over time, we had received fragments of the tale and what we believed to be the tale.

Several years were spent by two moms sifting through thousands of documents, uncovering evidence that those responsible for disposing of toxic waste in Missouri were aware of the mishandling of chemicals by their crew.

Immediately, we exclaimed, 'Oh my God, this is completely different from what we expected,' as Chapman stated.

St. Louis' Manhattan Project details gradually emerged over time, as stated by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

The public started to get a sense of it in the 1960s, but it wasn't until the 1980s and 1990s that the full scope became clear, according to Hawley.

"Last year, we obtained new documents that revealed the government's knowledge of their past actions, including the poisoning of the creek and the environmental and health problems caused by their landfill, which they had been aware of for decades. Despite this knowledge, they continued to lie about it."

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, set to expire this year, is being pushed to be expanded and extended by Hawley, with the aim of providing compensation to those who may have been sickened by chemicals in St. Louis and other areas.

According to Hawley, St. Louis, Kentucky, and Tennessee were all uranium processing sites, and the extent of the testing done in the West was far greater than previously known.

The cache contained internal memos from Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, which was hired by the U.S. government to process chemicals for nuclear weapons. Additionally, the cache included testing and sampling from government agencies, as well as warnings that sites exposed to those chemicals may not have been safe.

SEE THE DOCUMENTS BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE.

Nickel stated that the evidence and facts presented the story in its entirety.

The St. Louis-based Mallinckrodt Chemical Works processed uranium in the 1940s, which eventually contributed to the creation of the first sustained nuclear chain reaction. However, after the plant shut down, the company focused on disposing of the chemicals. An internal memo from 1949 highlighted workers' discussions about the health and safety risks associated with storing the waste.

"The memo recognized the severe problem of disintegrating K-65 drums at the airport, which is addressed in Point No. 2."

Near St. Louis Airport, federal officials initially stored waste in a location adjacent to a 14-mile creek that runs through North St. Louis County. The barrels were left uncovered, exposed to the elements.

Immediately, it was clear that the government recognized the hazardous nature of the waste, according to Chapman.

Workers at Mallinckrodt raised concerns about the possibility of chemicals leaking into the creek, as detailed in an internal memo.

The risk to workers handling K-65 material, particularly when it's in broken drums, is more severe and immediate than the potential pollution from streams.

Nickel stated that they were so toxic that they were instructed not to touch them, as they were too dangerous.

High water and flooding have been additional yearly concerns along Coldwater Creek.

"Of course, they wouldn't place hazardous waste near a creek that frequently floods," Chapman stated. "They were aware that it was likely contaminating the creek, but they were unaware of the extent of the leak."

Due to decades of flooding, the cleanup job for Army Corps of Engineers officials is complex.

"According to Phil Moser, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District Program Manager, wind and rain, as well as flooding events, transported contaminants downstream. These contaminants were then deposited during both flooding events and normal flow. This historical contamination, which dates back decades, makes it challenging to locate today."

Radioactive material has been detected in Coldwater Creek, some of which predates the St. Louis population growth.

In the late '50s and '60s, homes were constructed on top of this area, as it was before homes were built, Nickel stated.

In the 1960s and 1970s, waste was relocated near the airport and left exposed.

Moser stated that the controls of the past were not as advanced as they are today, which led to the current situation.

Advocates and lawmakers, including Hawley, said the cleanup could move faster.

For years, the residents of St. Louis were reassured, "There's no significant radiation to worry about" or "We've cleaned it all up." However, these statements were not accurate.

Years were required to conduct testing and fully understand the extent of North County's contamination, according to Chapman.

In 1977, a report from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee revealed that samples from Coldwater Creek contained possible contamination. The report detailed testing in drainage ditches, which carried run-off water into the creek, and found that average radiation levels were almost five times higher than usual.

Moser stated that he had not witnessed that level of activity at those sites since he arrived.

In the 1970s, the waste was relocated from its previous site to West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Missouri.

According to Chapman, it is impossible to buy a home near a Manhattan Project radioactive waste site in the United States, which has been sitting for decades.

Thousands of people, including Chadman and Nickel, would eventually make neighborhoods near the West Lake Landfill their homes.

Hawley stated, "Now is the time to act, as it should have been done 50 years ago, but it hasn't been. Therefore, it's time to do it."