Carol Mongerson, (1927-2005) was referred to as a West Valley "watchdog" for her research and publications on the West Valley radioactive leaks. She was born Carol Vanderwalker in Flossmoor, Illinois, and married John Jeffrey Mongerson in 1948. Carol earned a masters degree in philosophy from the University at Buffalo. In 1974, she helped form the Springville Radiation Study Group which focused on the radioactive leaks and technical problems at the former West Valley Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Center in Ashford. This group later became the Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Waste. She studied and wrote about complex nuclear waste issues, including in her free newsletter the Coalition Crier. Information for the biographical note taken from Carol Mongerson's obituary, which was featured in the Buffalo News, June 1, 2005.

West Valley is a hamlet in the Town of Ashford in Cattaraugus County, New York, which gained notoriety for the nuclear waste reprocessing plant that began operations in 1966 and ceased operations in 1972. During this time, the plant reprocessed spent reactor fuel, and resulted in the accumulation in high-level radioactive waste in an underground storage facility. Additionally, low level radioactive waste was disposed of at the site, even after the plant officially closed in 1972. The effects of which contaminated the groundwater, the soil, and exposed plant workers to radiation. In 1980, the West Valley Demonstration Project Act was passed by Congress, and the site became the responsibility of New York State, under the direction of the Department of Energy. The directive of the West Valley Demonstration Project was to solidify and remove the accumulated nuclear waste present on the site, in addition to decontaminating and decommissioning the facility and surrounding property. High-level waste cleanup persisted until 2002, and low-level waste cleanup persisted until 2006.