EPA Reviewing West Lake Landfill Study

Angela Brees, deputy director for the EPA’s Region 7 Office of Public Affairs, said the agency received the document last week and is studying the findings. The study, which was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, was prepared by the Boston Chemical Corp. and the Institute for Policy Studies. The authors claim that 48 percent of their 287 soil samples contained lead-210 concentrations above Department of Energy limits for residential farming.

“We received it last week, and we’re reviewing it now,” Brees said.

Under the oversight of the EPA, landfill owner Republic Services conducts its own regular air monitoring. In an email, Brees said the monitoring currently includes analyzing for radon-222 and lead-210 at 13 on-site locations for the purpose of establishing preconstruction, or baseline, conditions at the site.

Last week, the EPA announced that it will build an isolation barrier at the West Lake Landfill to prevent a smoldering, underground fire at the adjacent Bridgeton Landfill from coming into contact with nuclear waste material.

KMOX Radio in St. Louis reported Wednesday that representatives from the Westlake Landfill citizens’ group Just Moms STL is traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress next month. They are requesting that management of the site be transferred from the EPA to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.