EPA orders fire-prevention steps for troubled landfill

ST. LOUIS -- The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday ordered surface-fire prevention measures at a St. Louis-area landfill where nuclear waste was dumped illegally four decades ago.

The order by EPA Region 7 administrator Mark Hague requires companies associated with West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Missouri, to come up with a plan within three weeks to remove trees and brush, place non-combustible material on the surface and take other steps to prevent future fires.

A faulty utility pole was blamed for an Oct. 24 fire that ignited brush on the landfill's grounds. Hague said the EPA found no evidence the fire created any hazard for nearby homes or businesses. But it was particularly concerning because of existing problems at the landfill. Nuclear waste dating to the Manhattan Project was dumped there in 1973. Meanwhile, an underground fire smolders at the adjoining Bridgeton Landfill.

"This EPA order requires swift action by the parties to ensure that the risks of a surface fire, and the effects of any potential surface fire, are greatly reduced," Hague said.