The landfill contains thousands of tons of nuclear waste and byproducts from World War II-era atomic bomb development efforts.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Crews working to clean up the West Lake Landfill in St. Louis County detected contamination in nearby groundwater, forcing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate whether radium might have left the site.
In a periodic update to nearby communities last month, the EPA said it would add groundwater monitoring wells around the site, which sits in Bridgeton, about a mile from the banks of the Missouri River.
The expansion, which came after contamination was detected at the edge of the landfill, will help determine whether contamination may be migrating from the site and whether it could reach the river. Radium has been detected near the site at slightly above drinking water limits, the EPA said in a statement, but the radioactive element also occurs naturally in rock formations and aquifers.
Initially, the EPA had anticipated all necessary groundwater …