Category: Environmental Issues

West Lake Landfill: Separating Fact from Fiction

In the 1940s the United States was working hard to develop an atomic bomb at the end of World War II. One of the unfortunate by-products of nuclear research and development is radioactive waste. Much of that waste was disposed of in the West Lake Landfill 43 years ago.

As awareness of the dangers of radioactivity has increased in the intervening decades since the waste was dumped in the West Lake Landfill, but along with that awareness fear has also grown, often overblown and unwarranted.

Experts on radiation who have examined the West Lake Landfill say that the risks associated with the tiny amounts of gamma rays that are emitted are acceptable, similar to the risks of driving.

“All of this would be well within what we give people for medical procedures,” said Sasa Mutic, director of radiation oncology physics at Washington University School of Medicine. “At this level, there are many other things that are much riskier.”

The following video examines some myths and facts concerning the West Lake Landfill.

For more information please go to this article: Misplaced Fears?

Bridgeton Landfill and the EPA

Since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year reached an agreement with Bridgeton Landfill, LLC, there has been a noteworthy shift on the enhancement of air quality in the region.  According to Mark Hague, Administrator for the EPA Region 7, “the installation and operation of these air monitors is an important step in evaluating the air quality in the community. These monitors are the latest in a series of steps taken by the Bridgeton Landfill under EPA and MDNR oversight to help ensure air quality around the landfill is protective of public health.”

It seems that already, positive results have been incurred from the new air monitors at the landfill sites. Further air monitoring is taking place in two other places too:  one near St. Charles Rock Road and the other near the Spanish Village water tower.  These locations were chosen by the EPA in an attempt to have the monitors are able to cover air emissions under various wind directions.  As well, they will bolster the actions being undertaken the nearby Rider Trail monitored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

These monitors form just part of the $200 million that Bridgeton Landfill has invested in “odor control, environmental remediation and site improvements.”