WashU Public Exchange - Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis

WashU initiative testing soil, air in tornado-affected neighborhoods

Myra — Wed, 27 May 2026 17:56:25 +0000

The Clean STL project is a Washington University–led environmental health initiative focused on north St. Louis neighborhoods affected by the May 16, 2025, tornado. Researchers are studying whether the storm redistributed dangerous contaminants, especially lead, asbestos, and industrial dust, into residential yards, streets, and homes after older buildings were destroyed. The project combines university scientists, neighborhood organizations, and residents to map contamination risks and better understand long-term public health impacts in north city communities. Early findings suggest there is legitimate concern about lead exposure because many damaged buildings in north city were built before lead paint regulations existed. Researchers say tornado debris likely spread contaminated dust and building materials across surrounding blocks. Clean STL is now moving into a broader...

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Post-tornado soil tests find that lead is a problem—but not a new one

Myra — Tue, 26 May 2026 15:38:21 +0000

St. Louis is no stranger to the dangers of lead exposure, and in the aftermath of the May 16, 2025, tornado, people were worried. What does all that disturbed matter mean for people’s health? That question has sprung a team of academics into action over the past few months, testing soil for lead, and standing up further initiatives to proactively respond to the ongoing tornado recovery effort. Jeff Catalano, a professor of earth, planetary, and environmental sciences at Washington University, had questions. After fears of the potential risk for lead paint exposure following last year’s Palisades fire in Los Angeles, Catalano and others at WashU had the same thought following the tornado. “The thought was: well, this tornado dispersed a...

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To address post-tornado concerns, WashU teams with community groups to study environmental impacts

Myra — Tue, 12 May 2026 17:49:41 +0000

As the city of St. Louis nears a year since a tornado changed the lives of many, a local university and community organizations are working to understand some of the environmental impacts of the twister. Washington University researchers are studying soil samples from neighborhoods in St. Louis’ tornado-impacted areas, searching for lead contamination that may have spread when the May 16 tornado dispersed building materials across yards and soil. “We have a lot of older buildings in the area. Before about 1980, lead was still used in paint. That was on the walls of buildings, interiors, et cetera. When you have a tornado come through and distribute all that building material, disperse it all over the soil, all over yards,...

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WashU starts project on tornado-related environmental risks

Myra — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 18:45:00 +0000

Following the May 16 tornado, Washington University researchers have launched a new project to assess environmental health concerns in affected communities. It’s more than just physical destruction. Hidden in the debris are environmental risks that could threaten community health in the future. The university launched a rapid environmental health assessment, the first project under the university’s public exchange initiative called CLEAN STL—Contamination Level Evaluation and Analysis for Neighborhoods. Condemned homes face demolition, which raises a key issue: what environmental risks are residents facing, from the soil to the air?

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WashU testing soil in tornado impacted areas for lead

Myra — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 18:58:00 +0000

ST. LOUIS—From-the-ground-up, Washington University’s CLEAN STL program has started collecting soil samples from areas impacted by May 16th’s tornado. What You Need To Know CLEAN STL is the inaugural project for WashU Public Exchange, a fresh initiative of the Brown School at Washington University. “Testing has started yesterday (November 13), which is very, very exciting,” said Dorian Traube, dean of the Brown School. “We know that we’re coming up on the six-month anniversary of the tornado. Much of the cleanup will accelerate now and this is a prime time to be doing this work.” Through CLEAN STL’s first partnership in Better Family Life, they can access impacted areas to test for lead and other contaminants.

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WashU project to analyze environmental health of St. Louis neighborhoods impacted by tornado

Myra — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:35:06 +0000

A newly launched Washington University project will examine the environmental health of neighborhoods devastated after an EF3 tornado swept through the St. Louis area in May. Contamination Level Evaluation and Analysis for Neighborhoods — or CLEAN STL— will test and analyze the soil and air quality in those communities for major contaminants. It’s the first project under the university’s WashU Public Exchange initiative. The goal is to partner university experts with residents, local organizations and industry partners to address social problems.

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Brown School launches initiative to tackle complex problems through private-public partnerships

Roger — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:28:59 +0000

The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis is deepening its engagement with the St. Louis community through a new initiative that connects university expertise with residents, community organizations and industry partners. The WashU Public Exchange joins a model first created five years ago at the University of Southern California (USC). The program’s goal is to co-create solutions to complex societal challenges while generating knowledge that benefits both local communities and the broader world. Organizers say this partnership lays the foundation for a national network linking researchers with community and industry partners to collaboratively address pressing social issues. “The goal of this program is to serve as a convener, assembling expertise across our campuses to help partners in policy,...

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New Public Exchange will put WashU profs to work on St. Louis’ most pressing problems

Myra — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 18:23:47 +0000

The Brown School initiative is modeled on a first-of-its-kind program at USC that’s had a big impact. What if you could pull expertise out of the ivory tower and deploy it in the real world? What if top St. Louis academics were encouraged to direct their attention to the region’s problems not as a subject of historical inquiry but in real time? Those are the questions being asked by a new initiative launching today at Washington University’s Brown School, and it’s already working to help St. Louis recover from one of its most challenging springs in recent memory. Called the Public Exchange, it was inspired by an initiative at the University of Southern California that’s had a big impact over its...

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