Bridgeton Landfill: "Dirty Bomb" Radioactive Hazards or Irresponsible Activist Speculation?

Here's a press release from the Missouri Coalition for the Environment and other partnering groups.

Missouri Coalition for the Environment

Here's an expert report on the site.

West Lake Report

Here's Republic's first press release.

BRIDGETON LANDFILL CALLS ON EPA TO RELEASE FINDINGS ON WEST LAKE LANDFILL
Speculation May Be Good for Activist Groups But Bad For Residents and Landfill Employees

(Bridgeton, Missouri): Tim Trost, the Area President for Republic Services, the parent company of Bridgeton Landfill LLC, issued the following statement regarding this morning's activists meeting.

"On behalf of the residents, employees and communities in and around the Bridgeton Landfill, we are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release its findings as soon as possible regarding radiation at the West Lake Landfill.

The EPA has determined that the heat being generated from the Bridgeton Landfill does not affect or pose a risk to the West Lake Landfill.

That's why we are concerned by the actions of those who are trying to link the odor and the material decomposing at Bridgeton Landfill with the low level radioactive material at West Lake Landfill. They are purposely and irresponsibly scaring residents with their speculation. The EPA now needs to release its information and end this speculation once and for all."

And the company's second one.

"EXPERT" WHO CLAIMED DIRTY BOMB POTENTIAL AT BRIDGETON LANDFILL IS NOT A SCIENTIST--HE'S AN ECONOMIST
Trost: "He's an expert all right - an expert at scaring people while ignoring the facts"

(Bridgeton, Missouri): Tim Trost, the Area President for Republic Services, the parent company of Bridgeton Landfill LLC, issued a statement denouncing Peter Anderson's accusation that conditions at Bridgeton Landfill could create a "dirty bomb" scenario for nearby employees and residents.

"It is often said that the first casualty of war is the truth. Bridgeton residents and community leaders must wonder what war they have been dragged in to when Peter Anderson, the Executive Director of the Center for a Competitive Waste Industry, claimed earlier today that conditions at Bridgeton Landfill could lead to a 'dirty bomb.'

Peter Anderson is an economist by training. He leads a non-profit organization that is supported by those with a financial interest opposed to Republic Services. Anderson owes Bridgeton residents an apology for trying to scare them with one false statement after another."

The facts about Bridgeton Landfill:

• Deep inside the landfill, a heat-producing reaction is causing the trash around it to decompose at an accelerated rate. Gas and liquids are a natural byproduct of this decomposition. The acceleration is causing more of both to be produced. It is important to remember that for a fire to occur, there needs to be oxygen and at this depth in the landfill, no oxygen is present.

• There is absolutely no evidence or proof of any kind that jet fuel is buried at the Bridgeton Landfill.

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that the heat being generated from the Bridgeton Landfill does not affect or pose a risk to the West Lake Landfill.

Added Trost, "When it comes to trusting someone about what is going on the Bridgeton and West Lake landfills, who would you believe ... the experts at the EPA or an economist with a financial interest?"

Concluded Trost, "It's clear that these so-called experts aren't thinking about the people who live and work near this landfill when they make these outrageous claims. The people in this part of the county deserve the truth not this type of fear-mongering."

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