What caused the fire in the West Lake Landfill?
What caused the fire in the West Lake Landfill?
Here is what you need to know about the situation in Missouri. An exothermic reaction at the Bridgeton (Mo.) Sanitary Landfill that began nearly six years ago continues to smolder. This is a concern because of low-level radioactive material that was disposed of at the adjacent West Lake Landfill in 1973.
What is the company name that started the processing of uranium in St Louis?
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works processed a majority of the uranium needed for the building of the first atomic bomb at their plant north of downtown St. Louis next to the Mississippi River.
Is the Bridgeton Landfill still on fire?
The underground fire that has been smoldering at the Bridgeton Landfill since at least December 2010 is still there. So is the World War II-era nuclear weapons waste at the adjacent West Lake Landfill.
What is landfill smolder?
A landfill fire occurs when waste disposed of in a landfill ignites and spreads. Two types of landfills fires are generally recognized – surface fires and deep-seated fires. Surface fires typically occur in underdeveloped countries that lack capacity to properly cover waste with inert daily and intermediate cover.
How did radioactive waste end up in the West Lake Landfill?
In 1973, a contractor for uranium processor Cotter Corporation reportedly dumped 8,700 tons of leached barium sulfate, containing uranium stemming from nuclear testing during the Cold War, at the landfill without authorization.
Who owns West Lake Landfill?
The potentially responsible parties that have been identified for Operable Units 1 and 3 for the West Lake Landfill site are Bridgeton Landfill, LLC; Cotter Corporation (N.S.L.); and the U.S. Department of Energy. Bridgeton Landfill, LLC is the owner and/or operator of the site.
Is St Louis still radioactive?
The EPA announced a plan in September 2018 to remove some of the radioactive material at West Lake Landfill in the St. Louis suburb of Bridgeton, and cap the rest. The waste sits a few hundred yards from an adjacent landfill that has dealt with an underground smolder for more than a decade.
How much uranium is in a potato?
Table 6-6Concentrations of Uranium in Some Foods
| Type of food | Uranium concentration (ng/g raw weight) | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | 2.66–2.92; 15–18 | EPA 1985c; NCRP 1984a |
| Carrots | 7.7 | EPA 1985c |
| Root vegetables | 0.94–1.20 | NCRP 1984a |
| Cabbage | 4.7 | EPA 1985c |
What is underground smolder?
Dangerous underground fires, which can occur in coal-waste dumps, are characterised by smoldering combustion [17,18], high temperatures (sometimes exceeding 1000 °C), low combustion intensity, and slow growth rates. These are long-lasting fires and, compared to surface fires, are difficult to locate.
Why would smoke be coming from a landfill?
This occurs when underground, decomposing waste rising in temperature combusts as it comes in contact with a methane gas pocket. This is known as a “hotspot” and can be identified when white or brown smoke emanates from the surface of a landfill.
What materials were disposed of in the West Lake Landfill?
The West Lake Landfill has been used since 1962 for the disposal of municipal refuse, industrial solid and liquid wastes, and construction demolition debris. Between 1939 and the spring of 1987, limestone was quarried there. Landfill operations filled in some of the excavated pits from the quarry operations.
What happened West Lake Landfill?
West Lake Landfill is a closed, unlined mixed-waste landfill located in Bridgeton, Missouri. It was featured in the 2015 documentaries The First Secret City, The Safe Side of the Fence and the 2017 HBO documentary Atomic Homefront….
| West Lake Landfill | |
|---|---|
| Proposed | 10/28/1989 |
| Listed | 08/30/1990 |
| List of Superfund sites |
Is there uranium in Missouri?
Small quantities of some of these rare minerals have been obtained as a by-product of feldspar mining. No peg- matites containing uranium minerals are known in Missouri.
Is Coldwater Creek still radioactive?
The Army Corps of Engineers said its role was not to put up signs where there is residual radioactive material that lasts billions of years, especially on private property. Regardless, the agency said the levels it is finding so far along Coldwater Creek are at a low level and below ground surface.
Where is the world’s oldest continuous underground fire?
The Centralia mine fire is a coal-seam fire that has been burning in the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines underneath the borough of Centralia, Pennsylvania, United States, since at least May 27, 1962.
Is there fire under the earth?
Across the globe hundreds of fires burn low and slow on dirty fuel beneath the earth, smoldering for decades or even centuries. These fires are known as coal seam fires. They occur underground when a layer of coal in the earth’s crust is ignited.
Why do landfills smell worse in the winter?
During colder months, temperature inversions may occur where warm air is trapped above cold air closer to the ground. This slows the normal rise of gas causing concentrations closer to the ground thereby creating a stronger smell.
How far does landfill smell travel?
It is difficult to predict the distance that landfill gas will travel because so many factors affect its ability to migrate underground; however, travel distances greater than 1,500 feet have been observed.
