This Question refers to the 1 of 3 the nuclear landfill sites in residential/commercial areas in the St. Louis, MO area. These landfills are a result of the leftovers from the Manhattan Project
Westlake Nuclear Landfill
Inspired by the new HBO documentary called Atomic Homefront which can be viewed free until Mar 18.
Backstory from the documentary:
The residents of Bridgeton, Missouri live adjacent to an uncontrolled subsurface fire at the Bridgeton-West Lake Landfill, which is moving towards illegally dumped radioactive waste. In Florissant, Missouri, four miles from the landfill, the neighborhood waterway Coldwater Creek meanders through the suburbs for a 14-mile stretch.
and,
Though West Lake Landfill was designated a Superfund site in 1990, residents are frustrated to learn that an isolation barrier to keep the fire from the radiation waste is merely a proposal, and has not even been designed years later. The community fears that nothing will keep the fire from reaching the radioactive waste.
The claim I'm challenging is:
From the EPA which claims
The scientific data demonstrates that the wastes at the landfill do not currently pose an off-site health risk to the surrounding community.
And also challenging:
Ross Knocke Vice president of Republic services claims (the guy who own's the landfill) says:
“Bridgeton Landfill is safe,"
Note: What they are referring to as safe is this landfill next to the 8,700 tons of nuclear is a SSE or "Subsurface Smoldering Event" AKA: an underground fire. Which is spreading closer to the 8,700 tons of nuclear waste.
It looks something like this:
Somehow I missed this updated map from when EPA was pressured to research more.
PS: I'm not affiliated with HBO in any way.
Related question: Is the illegal nuclear waste at the Coldwater Creek Nuclear Landfill a risk to public health?
