Deep underground, the Bridgeton Landfill has been smoldering for a full five years. And for five years, the people of the St. Louis County neighborhoods surrounding the site have endured noxious smells released by the combusting waste.
Now, concerns about the fire—specifically, about its proximity to radioactive waste illegally buried more than 40 years ago at the adjacent West Lake Landfill—are growing. The recent release of a county emergency plan that lays out a course of action to be taken in “a catastrophic event” has many locals on edge.
