Frustrated residents in Bridgeton and neighboring Maryland Heights are still at odds with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials regarding the removal of radioactive waste at West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton.
Karl Brooks, EPA Region 7 administrator, led a heated panel discussion recently at a West Lake Landfill public meeting held at Pattonville High School.
Gena Simone, of Maryland Heights, sat next to her motorized wheelchair inside the high school auditorium. Simone claimed she has an undiagnosed neuromuscular disease and wondered if her health problems could be attributed to living in close proximity to radioactive waste. She believed that radioactive material could be polluting drinking water by seeping into groundwater.
“I got out of my sick bed to find out what’s happening,” Simone said. “I just want to connect the dots.”
Brooks reassured residents that drinking water is safe because it does not come from groundwater at the West Lake Landfill. Further, he said, radioactive waste does not pose a public health threat, as long as people remain outside the secured, fenced area.
In 1973, radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project were dumped in West Lake Landfill. Since 1990, the site has been under the jurisdiction of the EPA as a Superfund
Since the last public meeting held in January at the Machinists Hall in Bridgeton, Brooks acknowledged that odorous emissions generated from the “subsurface smoldering event” at the Bridgeton Landfill have been “intense.”
The lingering smell permeating the air for miles – best described as a mixture of rotten eggs and burning cardboard – is caused by elevated temperatures that accelerate the decomposition of waste. Brooks emphasized that the EPA implemented control measures that seem to be keeping the landfill fire away from the radioactive material.
Brooks said the EPA is working closely on the situation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Attorney General Chris Koster. The DNR conducts continuous monitoring of air emissions at the site. Brooks cited DNR air sampling data showing that no contaminants or radiation released from the landfill are in violation of state or federal laws.
Representatives from the DNR and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) were present at the meeting to address any health-related concerns. Jonathan Garoutte, environmental specialist with DHSS, said unpleasant odors can cause temporary health effects that include headaches, nausea and fatigue. The DHSS recommends that sensitive individuals stay indoors as much as possible and seek medical advice for any acute symptoms like asthma.
Dawn Chapman, a member of the community activist group St. Louis Radiation Waste Legacy, said she is concerned about low-level exposure to these toxins over a long period of time. Yet, she said she has more pressing issues to contend with in terms of a new Contingency Plan for the site.
Bridgeton Landfill LLC, which operates the site, is a subsidiary of Republic Services, a waste and recycling company based in Arizona. On June 27, two days after the public meeting, Republic Services submitted part 1 of its Bridgeton Landfill North Quarry Contingency Plan to the DNR.
The Contingency Plan details the construction of an excavated isolation barrier between the North Quarry and the West Lake Landfill that may prevent the smoldering fire located in the South Quarry portion of the site from advancing into the West Lake Landfill. The Contingency Plan was released pursuant to a court order with the State of Missouri. Chapman said the activist group plans to petition Koster and the DNR to throw out the Contingency Plan.
Chapman said it would make more sense to remove the radioactive waste, rather than dig into it.
“They can’t dig here without the EPA allowing it,” she said. “If the EPA allows it, then that means that they can no longer say that the fire isn’t their concern.”
She said most residents would like to see the EPA relinquish its authority of the Superfund site to the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers.
As of July 1, the Bridgeton Landfill LLC project team announced that it had successfully installed more than 15 acres of an ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) capping system. When completed, the EVOH cap will help reduce the odor and improve the collection of gas and liquids, they said.
The next public meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday, July 11) at Pattonville High School, 2497 Creve Coeur Mill Rd., in Maryland Heights.
