Testing soil & air safety after St. Louis tornadoes
Evaluating the soil and air quality for contaminants to help St. Louis rebuild.
WashU Launched 2025
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After the 2025 EF3 tornado, St. Louisans needed answers about how safe it was to return to their homes and neighborhoods. We stepped in to provide answers.
With debris spread across north St. Louis, CLEAN STL exists to give the St. Louis community the information they need to recover and rebuild safely. No long wait times or complicated paperwork—just clear steps and straight answers.
We’re building on USC Public Exchange’s CLEAN —launched in the wake of the 2025 wildfires—to provide much-needed answers about soil health and safety. What began as a rapid response to disaster has become a model for how universities can mobilize during disasters and support recovery long after, addressing equity, oversight, and environmental health in the process.
Meet the project team
Anna Foster, MSW
Project Manager
Project team
Matthew Bernstine
Director, Lecturer
WashU Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, Office for Socially Engaged Learning
Sheretta Butler-Barnes, PhD
Dean’s Distinguished Professorial Scholar, Professor
WashU Brown School
Jeff Catalano, PhD
Director, Professor
WashU Department of Earth, Environment and Planetary Sciences
Dan Giammar, PhD
Director, Professor
WashU Center for the Environment
WashU McKelvey School for Engineering
Jay Turner, DSc
Head of Division of Engineering Education, Vice Dean of Education, Professor
WashU McKelvey School for Engineering