SLU Care Doctor Worried About Children’s Health Around Landfill
BRIDGETON, Mo (KMOX) – Parents living in the West Lake Landfill area are worried what might happen to their kids if an underground fire eventually makes contact with nuclear waste next door.
SLU Care pediatrician Dr. Ken Haller at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center says an adult getting exposed to radiation might not be a big deal. But the younger you are, the worse it could be due to the rapid production of new tissues found in younger human beings.
“Radiation tends to attack the parts of our body that are replicating and creating new tissues. That’s what kids are, that’s what babies are,” Haller says. “In fact one of the most vulnerable populations is pregnant women because the fetus can be damaged by radiation.”
Haller says the biggest frustration for everyone is no one knows how the situation is going to play out.
“Right now there are more questions than answers,” Haller says.