ST. LOUIS – Families impacted by the nuclear waste in St. Louis are anxiously waiting to see if Congress approves a bill that would compensate some victims.

Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel with Just Moms STL are back in St. Louis after a quick trip to the nation’s capitol. While there, they shared stories of many who suffered from radioactive contamination in the St. Louis region and lobbied for legislation to fund victims with serious conditions, like genetic disorders and cancers.

Karen and Dawn estimate that as many as four million families in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County could be exposed to radiation.

“A friend that lives across the street up from the high school, she is in her very early 20s, and she was just diagnosed with Blastoma, and they’re giving her two to four months to live,” said Nickel. “This is the third brain tumor in my neighborhood, where we are right now in just a short amount of time.”

Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is pushing for the radiation compensation exposure act, which is an amendment to the current national defense authorization act. The amendment received bipartisan support in the summer, but now things hang in the balance.

“The bill is expensive, and we know that,” said Chapman. “Negotiations are being made because it is not just about St. Louis. It’s about a lot of other communities. It’s not just about expanding it. This will expire. The people that currently have it will lose it.”

Hawley’s legislation currently sits in the House. He posted on social media that he would vote against the national defense bill if it doesn’t include compensation for Missouri victims.

Missouri’s other U.S. senator, Eric Schmitt, says he remains hopeful an all-encompassing remedy will emerge for those impacted. FOX 2 also reached out to Missouri U.S. Rep. Cori Bush on the situation and did not hear back.

Chapman says they’re looking to state representatives to help push the legislation through.

“We are literally working through the weekend here,” said Chapman. “Their offices are open late and we’re getting these letters of support.”

Chapman and Nickel say, even if Hawley’s amendment fails, they won’t stop fighting for families.

“Every story that we hear is like the first story that we heard,” said Nickel. “The first illness that we heard. Every story hurts just the same.”