fcfizj West Lake Update
August 4,2015
Limited Brush Clearing Soon in Operable
Unit 1, Areas 1 and 2
EPA Region 7 has directed the Potentially Respon-
sible Parties to perform additional site work to supple-
ment radiologically impacted material (RIM) volume
calculations to assist in the evaluation of potential
remedies. This additional work will take place in Areas
1 and 2 of Operable Unit 1 of the West Lake Landfill.
The additional work directed by EPA will require the
limited clearing of brush from some areas of the land-
fill for drilling access.
The clearing of vegetation will follow the previously
approved process used for fence construction and
Gamma Cone Penetration Testing work conducted
in 2013. Prior to any clearing activities in an area
containing RIM, the area will be scanned for gamma
radiation. If the scan indicates a radiation level above
background, the crew will be directed to avoid ground
disturbance in that area.
Latest EPA Study Confirms Accuracy of
NATTS VOC Air Data
In February 2015, EPA released an off-site air data
summary report, which outlined the results of air moni-
toring efforts for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at
five off-site locations surrounding the West Lake Landfill.
The data in this report demonstrated that the levels of
VOCs in the air surrounding the landfill are similar to
levels in other parts of the city.
EPA has now released a new report for the National
Air Toxics Trends Sites (NATTS), including the one in
St. Louis. The St. Louis NATTS site is located on Blair
Street in downtown, and has continuously recorded air
quality data since 2005. The 2013 VOC temporal study
is one of a number of performance tests that EPA con-
ducts to verify the accuracy of the NATTS air monitoring
stations. NATTS data are also periodically reported to
Congress. The reports are available online: www2.epa.
gov/sites/production/files/2014-08/documents/082114-
urban-air-toxics-report-congress.pdf
With the accuracy of the St. Louis NATTS data con-
firmed by the VOC temporal study, EPA has even more
confidence in the previous air quality reports. While
those reports had undergone their own quality control
and quality assurance processes, the 2013 VOC temporal
study provides additional assurance as to the results of
those reports.
With this additional assurance regarding the urban St.
Louis air quality data, EPA reiterates that the data col-
lected from the five-off site locations near the Bridgeton
landfill in 2014 and early 2015 are generally consistent
with the data collected from the NATTS site on Blair
Street.
While the consistency of the NATTS data and the off-
site monitoring data demonstrate that urban air quality
throughout St. Louis metropolitan area is similar in com-
position, EPA recognizes that many people living near
the Bridgeton landfill experience odor issues that have
quality of life impacts.
The State of Missouri, through the MDNR and the
Attorney Generals office, has taken action to mitigate
odors emanating from the South Quarry of the Bridge-
ton Landfill, such as requiring the installation of a vinyl
cover to trap gases escaping from the landfill and the
construction of a leachate collection system. These ef-
forts, among others, have reduced the amount and inten-
sity of offensive odors escaping the Bridgeton Landfill.
The 2013 VOC temporal study is available on EPA's
West Lake Landfill website at: www.epa.gov/region7/
cleanup/west_lake_landfill
Phase ID Field Work Complete
Contractors for the Potentially Responsible Parties
(PRPs), under EPA oversight, have completed the field
work for the Phase ID investigation. The Phase ID in-
vestigation will build on previous work conducted at the
site to identify the extent of RIM in the southwestern and
western portions of Operable Unit 1 (OU1) Area 1, near-
est to the North Quarry, and to assist EPA in evaluating
locations for a potential isolation barrier. The field work
began in May and consisted of Gamma Cone Penetration
Testing to screen for RIM, followed by sonic coring drill-
ing to provide confirmation sampling of the screening
results. The analysis of the confirmation samples takes
approximately 45 days. EPA expects the final report,
which will include RIM sample results, to be available in
the fall.
Next CAG Meeting
The next Community Advisory Group meeting is
scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, August 10 at the of-
fices of Operating Engineers Local 513, 3449 Hollenberg
Drive, Bridgeton, Mo. EPA Region 7 representatives plan
to attend the meeting.
Community Inquiries
Ben Washburn
913-551-7364
Washburn.Ben@epa.gov
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