By John R. Emshwiller
ST. LOUIS--Pressure is mounting to deal with the legacy of
radioactive contamination and possible damage to human health
caused by work done in this region for the U.S. nuclear-weapons
program.
A state environmental consultant recently warned that a
"subsurface smoldering event", caused by garbage heating up
underground, might be heading toward a section of the West Lake
landfill, where thousands of tons of radioactive garbage is buried.
The landfill's owner strongly disagreed with the consultant's
findings.
Federal regulators meanwhile are testing for more possible
radioactive contamination in a suburban St. Louis area, while local
health officials are adding staff for a possible major
radiation-related health study of current and former residents of
some neighborhoods.
"There is a lot of debate and controversy going on," said Kay
Drey, a local activist who has been working on nuclear issues here
for decades. "It is time to finish cleaning up this area."
The Wall Street Journal's Waste Land series examined the St.
Louis area last year, one of several reports last year on the
legacy of contamination from the U.S. atomic-weapons program.
Starting in World War II, local factories processed large amounts
of weapons-related uranium. For years, there have been efforts to
clean up the resulting mess at dozens of properties.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently took soil
samples from an athletic complex where testing by a citizens group
had raised questions about possibly elevated contamination
levels.
The EPA said it expects to announce results near the end of this
month. Past testing didn't show a problem at that site, the EPA
said, though another citizens group recently challenged such
assurances.
The St. Louis County Department of Health is hiring a team of
epidemiologists whose projects may include a health study related
to the past nuclear-weapons work. A group of current and former
residents have been using Facebook to gather information on
hundreds of cases of cancers and other maladies in neighborhoods
they believe were contaminated by atomic waste.
While the citizens' data isn't scientifically validated, "it was
a great idea of people to use social media" to gather information,
said Dr. Dolores Gunn, director of the St. Louis County health
department. "It gives us a place to start."
At the West Lake landfill, a report last month from a consultant
for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources said that
underground temperature readings in part of the site suggest
underground smoldering is moving toward the landfill's radioactive
waste.
A spokesman for Republic Services Inc., West Lake's owner, said
evidence indicates the smoldering is moving away from the nuclear
waste. Even if the heat reached that waste, scientific data
"strongly indicates" it wouldn't present a public-health threat, he
said.
However, an EPA report earlier this year said that if heated,
the nuclear waste could put increased amounts of radioactive radon
into the air.
The EPA and Republic Services are working toward building an
underground "isolation barrier" between the radioactive waste and
the smoldering event, though they say the chance of the two meeting
is small.
Federal and state officials are worried about the pace of the
barrier work. Four members of the Missouri congressional
delegation, including the state's two senators, wrote the EPA last
week expressing concern about "the lack of a clear timeline for
completion."
"I am not getting solid answers as to when the construction will
begin and when it ends," Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster
said at a recent news conference. A spokesman for Mr. Koster said
his office has been told preliminary testing results indicate that
radioactive material is being found across a wider area of the dump
than previously believed.
An EPA spokesman said the agency understands the frustration of
elected officials. But he said of the isolation barrier, "We want
to get it right, and getting it right takes time."
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