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A river floodplain is probably the worst place to store radioactive waste, said Robert Criss, a geology professor at Washington University.

But in fact, thats where such waste has ended up after Mallinckrodt Chemical Works started producing uranium for atomic bombs in 1942 right next to the Missouri River floodplain.

The waste landed only eight miles upstream from Missouri American Water Companys intake for drinking water in Florissant that supplies all of North County. Thats also upstream from the Chain of Rocks water intake, a main supplier for St. Louis citys water.

Dumped illegally in 1973, the waste is now buried in the West Lake landfill, west of Interstate 270 on St. Charles Rock Road. As the radioactive waste gets older, it becomes more dangerous, said representatives of Missouri Coalition for the Environment.