EPA Clean-Up Planned For Radioactive West Lake Landfill

ST. LOUIS, MO — The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday a quarter-billion dollar clean-up plan for the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Mo. The north county site, just across the river from St. Charles, houses World War II and Cold War-era nuclear waste illegally dumped there over decades by both the government and private companies. Complicating matters, a nearby fire has been smoldering underground for years, raising concerns of radioactive smoke if the fire were to reach the radioactive waste about 1,000 feet away.

In 1989, the EPA designated West Lake a Superfund site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The Superfund manages cleanup at highly contaminated sites and works to identify responsible parties and compel them to fund clean-up operations. The EPA identified four responsible parties in the case of West Lake: The U.S. Department of Energy, Cotter Corporation, Rock Road Industries LLC, and Bridgeton Landfill LLC. Rock Road Industries and Bridgeton Landfill are subsidiaries of Republic Services, which currently manages the landfill.

Locals have long complained of the landfill's smell and reported health issues, including cancer, autoimmune disease and miscarriages, but officials have downplayed their concerns, with soil, air and groundwater tests coming back clean and studies finding no provable link between their accounts and the landfill's hazardous waste. But the EPA did express concern for landfill workers, whom the agency said could be exposed to radioactive gas and dust particles.

The EPA's plan calls for a partial excavation of the landfill to remove radioactive material and the installation of a permanent cover to both keep further contamination sealed within the site and mitigate fire risk.

Republic Services has said it favors a cheaper plan to cap the site rather than a partial excavation, but the projected $236 million cost is still cheaper than a full excavation, which could cost upward of $700 million.

But environmental activists have said partial excavation doesn't go far enough. "Partial removal is not acceptable," said Missouri Coalition for the Environment police director Ed Smith. "It means high levels of radioactivity will be left behind with the potential for water or airborne contamination into the future, creating unnecessary long-term risks to the St. Louis region."

St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger agreed, saying he was disappointed in the EPA's decision. " I, like many residents, believe the EPA should have elected to excavate and remove all hazardous material from West Lake Landfill," Stenger said. "St. Louis County will continue to monitor water and air quality at the site. We will also do everything in our power to help address any serious long-term health and safety concerns of residents near the landfill."

EPA chief Scott Pruitt has said he wants to reduce the burden on companies responsible for environmental contamination, which could mean more partial clean-up operations with a higher share of the cost footed by taxpayers rather than polluters. President Trump has also proposed cutting EPA funding by 31 percent, which could complicate clean-ups like the one planned at West Lake.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo by Sean Gallup/News/Getty Images