For years, expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was a goal that seemed out of reach for residents in areas of north St. Louis County. Even as cases of cancers and other illnesses mounted, activists like Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel faced disinterest and disbelief.
But during a July 10 meeting of Just Moms STL, the vibe was completely different. A crowd of local and state officials repeatedly deferred to Chapman and Nickel, who addressed a crowd of about 70 residents seeking information about RECA.
The program, passed as part of the Trump administration’s budgetary package, means that residents in certain St. Louis ZIP codes who have been diagnosed with eligible, radiation-related illnesses can receive $50,000 compensation. Surviving relatives of those who died will receive $25,000.
The problem now is no longer just that the government is moving too slowly. Instead, people who have waited years, even decades, are now acting too quickly to apply for the promised compensation — and falling for scams.
One attendee at last week’s meeting claimed a family member had already signed paperwork to be compensated under the program. The claim drew immediate concern from Chapman and Nickel.
“There is no application, there's nothing for you to fill out. Do not fill out anything online right now,” Nickel said Monday on St. Louis on the Air. “Steer clear from lawyers or anybody that tells you that you can qualify today and they can get you money.”
The Department of Justice maintains a webpage for Missouri RECA expansion, but it has not yet released an application. The page states that “Claimants are encouraged to wait until additional guidance is published before filing a claim.”
Chapman said she wasn’t entirely surprised by the bad actors circling her neighbors with quick-money offers and purported DOJ applications.
“We're part of a larger, broad RECA coalition of other states and communities,” she said. “We did our homework, spoke with them, the type of scams that they saw, what they did about them, and how they were able to head them off.”
The RECA expansion also includes the “downwind” areas in parts of Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Earlier this month, representatives from the Navajo Nation joined Chapman, Nickel and others at a press conference to mark the legislation’s passage.
Sharing the stage with them, Nickel said, was an emotional moment.
“We've been walking alongside them for two years now and watching them fight the same kind of fight that we've been fighting,” she added. “It’s just so extremely hard, when you know that there are other people out there suffering like we have.”
To hear the full conversation with Karen Nickel and Dawn Chapman — and additional analysis of the political path to RECA with STLPR politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum — listen to “St. Louis on the Air” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube, or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. The production intern is Darrious Varner. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
