Smell from landfill a concern in Bridgeton

Saturday, February 2, 2013

BRIDGETON, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis County is asking the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to test the air around a burning landfill in Bridgeton.

KMOX Radio reports residents are complaining about the foul smell from the Bridgeton Sanitary landfill. Some have told county health officials of headaches and asthma symptoms.

DNR has said previously that it supports a plan to let the landfill owner hire a consultant to test the air. St. Louis County Health director Dr. Delores Gunn says state testing would ensure reliability.

Gunn says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to check the air for possible radiation because the landfill sits next to West Lake Landfill, where Cold War era nuclear waste is stored. Gunn says the EPA air testing should start in about a week.