Press Releases
For Immediate Release
April 2, 2014
Contact: Aaron Baker
Email: Aaron@Coalitiontokeepussafe.com
Phone: 660-281-7777
New Coalition Wants Common Sense Solution for West Lake Landfill
Encasing the Rad Material On-Site Safer and Better Option Than Excavation
St. Louis, (April 2, 2014) –Today, the Coalition to Keep Us Safe, a group representing Missouri citizens, businesses, community leaders, and public officials was launched. The Coalition is advocating that the safest and quickest solution to handling the radiological material at West Lake Landfill is to have the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) endorse its 2008 decision and encase the material on-site.
Daniel P. Mehan, CEO/President of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “As a proud member of the Coalition, we fully believe the best solution for businesses in St. Louis County and throughout the state of Missouri is to have the material encased on site at West Lake Landfill.”
In 2008, after nearly 30 years of extensive testing, analysis, and public discussion, the EPA decided that encasing the radiological material on-site under a five-foot structure was “necessary to protect public health or welfare from actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment.”
The encasement remedy would take three to five years to complete. The remedy would have more than likely been complete today if opponents to this solution had not asked the EPA to reconsider its decision and conduct even more tests. Now, six years later, many of the same opponents are pushing for complete excavation of West Lake.
State Rep. Robert Cornejo is opposed to excavation, "In looking out for the best interests of St. Charles County residents, I cannot support any proposal that puts hundreds of thousands of residents at risk by transporting hazardous waste for decades to come."
Added Molly Teichman, a spokesperson for the Coalition, “Excavation means up to 40 years of clean-up for Missourians. It means more government studies, more taxpayer dollars wasted, and finally, and most troubling, it means transporting, either on trucks or on trains, radiological material across our state.”
Said Teichman, “Lambert Airport officials have said that excavation could threaten airline safety by attracting birds and increasing the likelihood of bird strikes. And, according to a study prepared for the EPA, excavation increases the total cancer risk 10 times more than encasing the material on site.”
For nearly a decade, the EPA has required multiple rounds of groundwater sampling as part of its groundwater investigation. To date, there is no evidence of leaching or plume contamination into the groundwater. There are no drinking water wells on the property and the EPA has confirmed that none will ever be located on the site.
The Coalition’s goal is to educate the public as well as state and federal elected officials about why encasing the waste on-site is a better option than excavation. Said State Rep. Glen Kolkmeyer, “State and federal elected leaders should know that the EPA’s 2008 remedy to encase the radioactive material on site and to barricade it from other threats in the area is the best solution.”
The Coalition also launched its website, www.CoalitiontoKeepUsSafe.com, where the public can learn more about the issue and get involved. Said Teichman, “West Lake Landfill is an issue that impacts all Missourians and I would encourage others to visit the site and join our cause.”
The Coalition is sponsored by Bridgeton Landfill LLC and Rock Road Industries, Inc. Coalition members are promoting encasing the radiological material on-site as the safest and most effective option for protecting the communities near the landfill as well as across the state of Missouri. These individuals understand the frustration and concern experienced by those living and working near the landfill. Encasing the material on-site allows for a solution in the near future instead of postponing the remediation work that would most likely take decades to complete.
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