EPA To Conduct More Testing At West Lake Landfill, Delay Cleanup Of Radioactive Waste
The Environmental Protection Agency has decided to conduct additional tests for radioactive contamination at the West Lake Landfill, which would delay its excavation of the Superfund site.
When the EPA region that oversees Missouri released its final plan last September to remove 70% of the radioactivity at the site, officials said the cleanup would begin after they spent 18 months planning how to remove the World War II-era waste.
EPA officials announced this week that parties responsible for the landfill signed an agreement with the agency to design the excavation plan. Because of the additional testing, the cleanup wont begin for two and a half years, EPA spokesperson Ben Washburn said.
We believe that taking this time to identify those pockets in the remedial design is going to lead to greater efficiencies and worker safety and community safety during the excavation, Washburn said.
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