Bridgeton Landfill Odor, Concerns Rise in the Area

As construction gets underway at Bridgeton Landfill to abandon six reinforced concrete pipes, area residents have turned up the heat to get more information and more testing done at the site.

The project comes after a strong odor in the area has been smelled by residents since earlier this year and is a part of the long-term goal to cap the south quarry at the Bridgeton Landfill.

Although daily air monitoring and sampling will continue to be conducted by the state’s Department of Natural Resources, area community members want further testing and monitoring done to ensure safety of residents from radioactive toxins and other dangerous chemicals. Not to mention, the smell will worse during construction before it gets better for areas surrounding it, including Maryland Heights, Bridgeton and parts of Hazelwood.

Earlier this year, Republic Services, owner of the landfill, announced that a subsurface fire had been occurring beneath the landfill for the past few years, which has drawn criticism and concern for the safety of area residents. Across from the Bridgeton Landfill sits West Lake Landfill, which houses radioactive waste contaminants that have been there for more than three decades, and area activists are concerned about the fire reaching or having already reached the radioactive waste.

“How unsafe is it for the community?” Dawn Chapman, a Maryland Heights mom and co-administrator of the West Lake Landfill Facebook page, asked. “This is nothing to mess around with at this point.”

Chapman said she’s concerned about radioactive particles not being tested. Wednesday evening, she posted on the site that the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services would be testing for the particles.

But the odor will remain.

Last Week, Ed Smith of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment pointed out that residents within a one-mile radius—including Spanish Village, Terrisan Reste Mobile Home and some of Carrolton Village Condominiums—had been offered temporary housing relocation during the construction. However, complaints of the odor range as far as three miles. The odor can be smelled near the St. Louis Outlet Mall.

The construction, which was scheduled to start Monday but was postponed due to weather conditions, will continue through the middle of June.

Residents will host another town hall meeting Thursday at Pattonville High School at 7 p.m. for a question and answer session with Chapman and others.

For more information regarding the landfill, check out: 

• Bridgeton Landfill Court Dates Set
• Pipe Construction Halted at Bridgeton Landfill
• Missouri Looks at Lawsuit Against Bridgeton Landfill
• Update: Missouri Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Bridgeton Landfill Owner
• Hold Your Nose: Bridgeton Landfill Gets Stinkier This Week
• MO Attorney General Announces Agreement with Bridgeton Landfill