In May 2025, an EF 3 tornado ripped through the urban heart of St. Louis, causing $1.6 billion in damages and destroying more than 5000 properties. Neighborhoods in the north of the city were hit especially hard. More than a year later, the cleanup is still ongoing.
Given St. Louis’ long history as a site of heavy industry, the soil in many places is contaminated with the residue of manufacturing. Heavy metals, including lead, are embedded in the ground but may have been released into the environment by the tornado or the post-storm clean-up, leaving residents to wonder if it was really safe to return.
WashU’s Public Exchange, a collaboration between WashU’s Brown School, academic environmental researchers, and St. Louis community organizations, is testing the air and soil in the hard-hit North City.
The Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic helped the Public Exchange get its testing program off the ground by answering legal questions about the testing protocols and testing results. While the Public Exchange aims to provide residents with the tools they need to make informed choices about their property, clinic students were able to answer important questions about liability and responsibility for clean-up.
