Chicago Area Local News

JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) ― They are common household items: Dolls, coffee cups, mops, even mattresses, and for some families there is a now fear that they are all toxic.
 
People in places like Joliet and Braidwood believe the U.S. government secretly exposed them and their homes to radiation. Some are even cancer victims, who are now asking for a full-scale investigation. CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini used a Geiger counter to reveal this "toxic legacy."

The Barbie dolls, balls and mitts in one Braidwood home are all testing positive for radioactivity. These are just a few of the things Mary Ellen Gramera played with as a child in the 1960s.

"This is probably the answer that I've been looking for for 28 years," Gramera said.

The 44-year-old Bourbonnais woman was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma as a teenager, and later thyroid cancer.

She thinks the clues to what caused her illness may be what the 2 Investigators uncovered inside the home. Gramera spent three years in the Braidwood home owned by Ray and Martha Stahl. Martha Stahl was Gramera's babysitter.

Her husband Ray worked at the Blockson/Olin Corporation in Joliet.

"He was such a good worker," Martha Stahl said.

Stahl says her husband was one of hundreds of workers who thought they were making soap, but were unknowingly working with highly radioactive weapons grade uranium, also called yellow cake.

He and others were given no protective gear and had no idea it was all part of a secret government contract to build atomic bombs.

CBS 2 wanted to see if any of the workers brought radioactivity home, so we used a Geiger counter and tested their homes, their garages where they stored their tools and toys, even the old clothes they used to wear - and got elevated readings.

Normal background levels in these homes would be meter readings of 3 to 7 on the Geiger counter. But 50 years after being exposed to the uranium, our 2 Investigators found levels of 5 to 10 times higher than that in the two homes we tested.

When we checked Ray Stahl's things, we got levels above normal. We got a reading of 16 on his wallet and 17 on his coveralls.

The more we looked, the higher the results.

From old brooms to his side of the bed, we got levels in the 20s. And the place where Ray stored his old helmet and tools had levels of 27.

"Oh, my God," Martha Stahl said.

When asked how that makes her feel, Martha said, "Sick. Sick, honestly."

Also upset is Phyllis Keca whose husband John also worked at the factory. The 2 Investigators found radioactivity in their basement, and especially high levels in a box of tea and coffee cups they used to drink from – readings of 30 and 31.

"It's appalling, yes, it's shocking, and what happens?" Keca said. "What do you do about this?"

Keca, a widow, blames the radiation exposure for her husband's cancer.

Martha Stahl, also a widow, believes radiation exposure caused her husband, herself and two of her children to also get cancer. And she worries the contamination brought home may have also caused Mary Ellen Gramera's cancer, too.

Radiation levels of 15 were shown on the Barbie dolls that Gramera played with as a child.

"Anything at that plant should have been left there, it should never have been brought home," Gramera said.

CBS 2 worked with a licensed engineer and reported our findings to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They say they're reviewing this information with interest but could not comment any further.

The government has paid out millions of dollars to workers exposed to radiation as a result of numerous secret weapons contracts nationwide.

Each victim can receive a one-time $150,000 compensation payment. Their family members, however, are not entitled to government compensation for being exposed to secondhand radiation. No one from the company would comment.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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