Community Corner

Maryland Heights, Bridgeton Residents Grow Worried about West Lake Landfill

With a subsurface fire burning at nearby Bridgeton Landfill, residents have grown concerned about the fire reaching radioactive waste.

One of the biggest concerns that Maryland Heights and Bridgeton residents feared could be happening.

Area residents raised concerns that new information provided by Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources shows the subsurface fire at the Bridgeton Landfill could be moving closer toward the radioactive waste at West Lake Landfill, which sits across from the former, according to a KSDK report. The fire has actually gone beyond the interceptor well, which is one of the mechanisms in place to control the landfill gas and reduce heat of the fire from reaching West Lake.

“The data show clearly that the subsurface landfill fire has moved beyond the equipment that was meant to stop its advance toward tons of radioactive wastes leftover from the purification of uranium for nuclear weapons,” said Ed Smith, Safe Energy Director with the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, in a press release. “The first line of defense that we were told was going to work has failed, making it even more critical to properly inform and protect impacted communities.”

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Hazelwood residents have complained about the smell as well. 

However, those living near the landfill have had concerns and worries that the fire wasn’t being contained enough from reaching the West Lake Landfill radioactive materials, which have sat in the landfill for decades from the dumping of uranium ore processing materials.

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Maryland Heights resident and co-administrator of the West Lake Landfill Facebook page said that the matter is a cause for great concern and new measures must be taken.

“No matter the cost, the fire can’t hit West Lake Landfill,” she said. “Nothing that they do to West Lake is safe.”

According to the KSDK report, a spokesperson for the Bridgeton Landfill said that the situation is under control and it would take 10 years or more to reach West Lake.


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