More than two years after SLM co-owner Ray Hartmann penned a column titled "Democracy Inaction," describing upset residents in North County voicing concerns about "horrific odors and underground fires" at West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Attorney General Chris Koster released expert reports that indicate "radiation and other pollutants" have migrated beyond the adjacent Bridgeton Landfill. The findings come as part of an ongoing lawsuit that Koster filed in 2013 against Republic Services, which owns and manages the Bridgeton Landfill.
"Collectively, the reports paint a troubling picture of the environment surrounding the landfill site," the attorney general's office noted in a press release. "Contamination in groundwater outside the landfill perimeter has been identified, including radiological contamination detected in trees surrounding the site. Further, data indicate that the fire has moved past the two rows of interceptor wells positioned at the neck of the landfill, closer to the North Quarry."
Among the key findings, from experts in an array of fields:
• There is contamination in trees on neighboring landowners' property, which indicates radiologically impacted material has spread beyond the landfill, either via groundwater or by air.
• High concentrations of volatile organic compounds were found in the groundwater in wells beyond the landfill.
• Subsurface fires have moved beyond gas interceptor wells at the “neck” of the landfill. Experts Tony Sperling and Ali Abedini allege that Republic Services “was negligent in aggressively over-extracting the gas system." They note that, according to the attorney general's release, "oxygen intrusion caused by over-extraction is the leading cause of subsurface fires and smolders in municipal solid waste."
• One expert with extensive experience investigating landfill fires concluded what he called a “catastrophic event" at the landfill "was foreseeable and preventable.”
• Significant slope degradation and areas where waste mass settled suggest that underground waste had been consumed by a smoldering or combustion event.
• The previously reported foul odor was “emitted by and carried a considerable distance downwind from the Bridgeton Landfill source.”
• A registered geologist conducted a feasibility study to analyze remediation options and examined five alternative approaches.
The attorney general mailed copies of the findings to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and the St. Louis County Public Health Department.
“These reports underscore what has been clear from the beginning—Republic Services does not have this site under control,” Koster said in the release. “Not only does the landfill emit a foul odor, it appears that it has poisoned its neighbors’ groundwater and vegetation. The people of Missouri can’t afford to wait any longer—Republic needs to get this site cleaned up.”
Richard Callow, a spokeperson for Republic Services, responded: "The key aspects of the State’s expert reports are simply irresponsible. Many of their taxpayer-funded conclusions are overstated, others are scientifically wrong. Regrettably, the State appears intent on making conditions seem scary, which only exacerbates public angst and confusion. Despite the theatrics, the State’s experts found no threat to public health or safety that actually exists. In addition, the State’s reports do not provide any new data indicating subsurface reaction movement in the direction of radiologically impacted materials. Bridgeton Landfill is in a managed state. It is safe, and it is intensely monitored. The State’s expert reports are just one phase of ongoing litigation. Bridgeton Landfill will submit its expert—and scientifically based— reports on or before October 16."
The case is slated to go to court next March.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated from an earlier version.
