Podcast appearances and mentions of karen nickel

Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel, founders of Just Moms STL, join Chris & Amy as plans for removal of radioactive nuclear waste from North St Louis County are finally progressing.

Hand-out prepared by Navajo Nation and given to members of Congress during meetings on the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). KEYSTONE PHOTO: The team that educated Congress for passage of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. (l-r) Christen Commuso, Reyaun Francisco, Karen Nickel, Dawn Chapman, Rep. Tricia Byrnes, Rep Chantelle Nickson-Clark This Week’s Featured Interview: Dawn...

This morning we were joined by Karen Nickel of Just Moms STL to update us on the bipartisan efforts to clean up radioactive waste in the area.

St. Louis County council approved more tax breaks for Boeing as they look to expand in west county. Plus, we talk with Granite City Mayor Mike Parkinson and Just Moms STL co-founder Karen Nickel.

In The Show's First Hour, Kevin, Amy, & Chris discuss  Jay Ashcroft's plan, according to the Post Dispatch, that may try and ban inappropriate materials from public libraries.  Who gets to define what's appropriate for what age?  The gang was joined by the Co-Founders of Just Moms STL, Karen Nickel and Dawn Chapman to discuss the ongoing trouble of the radioactive waste found at Jana Elementary School.  Also What's Trending.  Are the Boys of BTS Going into the Army?  WIll Ezra Miller Go to Jail?    

 Just Moms STL Co-Founders Karen Nickel & Dawn Chapman join the The Show to discuss the radioactive material that has been found in Jana Elementary school.

There are 1344 Superfund sites on the National Priorities List in the United States. Forty-eight additional sites have been proposed for entry on the list. For years activists have worked to draw attention to the Westlake Landfill, in MO, a superfund site, that encases a radioactive fire that is currently burning underground. The radioactive Superfund site has sat in the middle of a St. Louis Community for over 45 years leaving surface level radioactive waste to blow and be subject to all the elements. Presently, the Westlake Landfill is experiencing an active fire deep underground. It causes waste to decompose at an accelerated rate, producing excess gas and liquid. This results in a pungent odor byproduct of this gas and liquid. The Westlake Landfill sits in the floodplain of the Missouri River where radioactive contaminants (from the landfill?) are spreading into other neighboring communities along the river. The waste was created during World War II, when St. Louis-based Mallinckrodt Chemical Works purified all the uranium for the first nuclear weapons. The waste was eventually purchased by Cotter Corporation, then illegally dumped in north St. Louis County in 1973 The EPA classified it as a Superfund Site–a classification only given to the most polluted sites in the U.S.-- and put it on the National Priority List in 1992 30 years ago. Since then residents most impacted by the toxic waste site have organized to demand government action. In 2018 the EPA declared plans to remove a majority of the radioactive material and ensure the safety of the surrounding community. The clean up plan intended to remove contamination by digging out waste at varying depths between 8 and 20 feet below the surface, depending on the amount of radioactivity that exists at each location. Concerned residents continue to urge the EPA to revise and adjust their clean up plan to include the river and surrounding areas. Unhealthy levels of radium and other radioactive material remain despite these clean up efforts, resulting in constant exposure for the soil and the people living closest to the site, increasing their chances of developing lung cancers, lupus, asthma, and tumors. Advocates continue to urge the EPA to continue to clean the superfund site and make revisions to their clean up plan that take into account data reflecting current radioactive levels. Our guest joining Sojourner Truth Radio today is Dawn Chapman, a resident who lives near the landfill who will tell us what the EPA has done this far; the impacts of contamination on her community and discuss her ongoing advocacy work to push the EPA to clean up the West Lake site. Dawn Chapman, runs non-profit organization “Just Moms STL, (St. Louis) working in tandem with co-founder Karen Nickel. Just Moms is an advocacy group formed with the goal of raising awareness and community engagement regarding the nearby West Lake Landfill Superfund site. Living mere miles from the landfill, Dawn became engaged in this effort in 2013 after contacting the MO Dept of Natural Resources regarding pungent odors. That call lead Dawn on an unlikely journey from housewife and mother of three to becoming an advocate, a repository of knowledge and history about this site, and even a mentor to people dealing with the impact of other Superfund sites on their own communities across the country. Dawn has collaborated with and advised local, state and federal agencies, media organizations, and both locally affected community members as well as passionate environmental advocates worldwide. She has presented to groups as widely varied as high school and college classes, church and municipal groups, the MO State Legislature, all the way up to appearing before the United Nations Human Rights and Environmental Justice division. She was also invited to present to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Her story is documented in the HBO Documentary: Atomic Homefront.

There are 1344 Superfund sites on the National Priorities List in the United States. Forty-eight additional sites have been proposed for entry on the list. For years activists have worked to draw attention to the Westlake Landfill, in MO, a superfund site, that encases a radioactive fire that is currently burning underground. The radioactive Superfund site has sat in the middle of a St. Louis Community for over 45 years leaving surface level radioactive waste to blow and be subject to all the elements. Presently, the Westlake Landfill is experiencing an active fire deep underground. It causes waste to decompose at an accelerated rate, producing excess gas and liquid. This results in a pungent odor byproduct of this gas and liquid. The Westlake Landfill sits in the floodplain of the Missouri River where radioactive contaminants (from the landfill?) are spreading into other neighboring communities along the river. The waste was created during World War II, when St. Louis-based Mallinckrodt Chemical Works purified all the uranium for the first nuclear weapons. The waste was eventually purchased by Cotter Corporation, then illegally dumped in north St. Louis County in 1973 The EPA classified it as a Superfund Site–a classification only given to the most polluted sites in the U.S.-- and put it on the National Priority List in 1992 30 years ago. Since then residents most impacted by the toxic waste site have organized to demand government action. In 2018 the EPA declared plans to remove a majority of the radioactive material and ensure the safety of the surrounding community. The clean up plan intended to remove contamination by digging out waste at varying depths between 8 and 20 feet below the surface, depending on the amount of radioactivity that exists at each location. Concerned residents continue to urge the EPA to revise and adjust their clean up plan to include the river and surrounding areas. Unhealthy levels of radium and other radioactive material remain despite these clean up efforts, resulting in constant exposure for the soil and the people living closest to the site, increasing their chances of developing lung cancers, lupus, asthma, and tumors. Advocates continue to urge the EPA to continue to clean the superfund site and make revisions to their clean up plan that take into account data reflecting current radioactive levels. Our guest joining Sojourner Truth Radio today is Dawn Chapman, a resident who lives near the landfill who will tell us what the EPA has done this far; the impacts of contamination on her community and discuss her ongoing advocacy work to push the EPA to clean up the West Lake site. Dawn Chapman, runs non-profit organization “Just Moms STL, (St. Louis) working in tandem with co-founder Karen Nickel. Just Moms is an advocacy group formed with the goal of raising awareness and community engagement regarding the nearby West Lake Landfill Superfund site. Living mere miles from the landfill, Dawn became engaged in this effort in 2013 after contacting the MO Dept of Natural Resources regarding pungent odors. That call lead Dawn on an unlikely journey from housewife and mother of three to becoming an advocate, a repository of knowledge and history about this site, and even a mentor to people dealing with the impact of other Superfund sites on their own communities across the country. Dawn has collaborated with and advised local, state and federal agencies, media organizations, and both locally affected community members as well as passionate environmental advocates worldwide. She has presented to groups as widely varied as high school and college classes, church and municipal groups, the MO State Legislature, all the way up to appearing before the United Nations Human Rights and Environmental Justice division. She was also invited to present to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Her story is documented in the HBO Documentary: Atomic Homefront.

Michelle and Emily welcome Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel founders of JustMomsSTL to the podcast. JustMomsSTL have been working tirelessly to bring awareness about the environmental radioactive crisis sitting on the surface of a landfill located 1000 feet from residential communities. Backstory - In 2012, Just Moms STL founders became alarmed by the intense odor emitted from the West Lake Landfill and called authorities. That is when they found out in discussions with the authorities about not only the toxic odors emitting from the landfill but that 2 sections had radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project; soon came the revelation that the dump housed toxic waste in an unprotected site residing in a floodplain near the Missouri River. There is currently a subsurface smoldering fire in the adjacent Bridgeton Landfill approximately 1000 feet away from the radioactive waste. The EPA and other agencies have yet to come up with a solution to ward off a potential nuclear disaster. St. Louis County has gone as far as preparing a West Lake Landfill Shelter in Place/Evacuation Plan in 2014 that was accidentally leaked to a news station. No one knows exactly what will take place if the fire were to reach the nuclear waste. http://www.stlradwastelegacy.com Dawn & Karen are featured in the documentary "Atomic Homefront" available on HBO. Michelle also recommends everyone watch the Chernobyl miniseries on HBO to get an idea of the potential devastation awaiting the St. Louis region if this landfill and radioactive waste is not removed before the fire reaches it. Amazingly, we learned today (8-28-2020) that the EPA has finally started the cleanup of the SUPERFUND landfill this week. We're glad to bring you this important conversation not only for residents in the St. Louis region but for all our listeners because nuclear waste/environmental disasters are not limited to just our backyard. Thank you for listening and subscribing to Cliterally Speaking the Podcast. Visit our website: www.cliterallyspeakingpodcast.com Facebook: @cspeakpodcast Instagram: @cliterallyspeakingthepodcast Twitter: @cliterallyspea1 Please call our comment line: 812-727-0794 Watch our youtube channel (Cliterally Speaking the Podcast) for all the behind the scenes discussions during our recording sessions. Be on the lookout for the launch of our live-streaming channel on Twitch, CliterallySpeakingPodTV. Our patreon site is up - visit it here - http://bit.ly/32uOnVT

Artist Helen Berggruen creates scenes that span countries, households, and time. Listen to what she sees in the land and cities she captures in her paintings as well as her love for music. http://www.helenberggruen.com/ Karen Nickel and Dawn Chapman formed Just Moms-STL to educate the community about the potential hazards and health risks of radioactive materials. They are trying to bring awareness to the radioactive material that is interspersed throughout the St Louis Metropolitan area, and areas that have been deeply affected by these materials. http://www.stlradwastelegacy.com/

Featured Image:  Two exhausted warriors – Karen Nickel (l) and Dawn Chapman (r) of Just Moms StLin video mere moments after EPA’s announcement of the West Lake Landfill clean-up plan This Week’s Featured Interview: Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel are two North St. Louis mothers who discovered the fact of WWII radioactive atomic weapons waste...

Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel are two North St. Louis mothers who discovered the fact of WWII radioactive atomic weapons waste illegally buried in a neighborhood landfill. They founded the group Just Moms StL and shepherded the protests by friends and neighbors to radioactive waste in the neighborhoods, the back yards, even inside the houses where others in their community live. With this week's monumental EPA announcement, nobody better to comment on what it all means… and where the battle for the clean-up turns next. You didn't think it was over, did you???

Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel are two North St. Louis mothers who discovered the fact of WWII radioactive atomic weapons waste illegally buried in a neighborhood landfill. They founded the group Just Moms StL and shepherded the protests by friends and neighbors to radioactive waste in the neighborhoods, the back yards, even inside the houses where others in their community live. With this week’s monumental EPA announcement, nobody better to comment on what it all means… and where the battle for the clean-up turns next. You didn’t think it was over, did you???

Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel are two North St. Louis mothers who discovered the fact of WWII radioactive atomic weapons waste illegally buried in a neighborhood landfill. They founded the group Just Moms StL and shepherded the protests by friends and neighbors to radioactive waste in the neighborhoods, the back yards, even inside the houses where others in their community live. With this week’s monumental EPA announcement, nobody better to comment on what it all means… and where the battle for the clean-up turns next. You didn’t think it was over, did you???

Dawn Chapman, from the Just Moms STL group, is the guest on this Environmental Echo podcast edition with Don Corrigan. She talks the latest on the West Lake Landfill issues where an underground fire is slowly creeping toward buried nuclear waste. Pictured: Dawn Chapman (Left) and Karen Nickel, co-founders of Just Moms STL.

Nukes go Hollywood! International Uranium Film Fest/LA was a blast! Lou Gossett Jr, Esai Morales, Kat Kramer, Harvey Wasserman, Nuclear Hotseat's Libbe HaLevy, "The Man Who Saved the World," activists, more! And a special shout-out to Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel as they travel to the United Nations to make their/your case before the world. Nuclear Hotseat #254.

Nukes go Hollywood! International Uranium Film Fest/LA was a blast! Lou Gossett Jr, Esai Morales, Kat Kramer, Harvey Wasserman, Nuclear Hotseat's Libbe HaLevy, "The Man Who Saved the World," activists, more! And a special shout-out to Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel as they travel to the United Nations to make their/your case before the world. Nuclear Hotseat #254.

Don Corrigan interviews Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel, co-founders of Just Moms STL, in this edition of "Behind The Editor's Curtain." The duo shares their insight, research, perspectives, updates, and history about the issues surrounding the West Lake Landfill and their struggle to protect their kids, their family, and their community. "The hardest thing is not getting people to action, but getting people not to lose hope," Just Moms STL said. "The bureaucracy in this issue is huge and it's so disgusting that people lose heart and say that nobody is going to come in and save us." Picture provided by Just Moms STL. Dawn Chapman (Left) and Karen Nickel, co-founders of Just Moms STL.