Community Corner

Residents Show Gratitude to Fire Officials Taking a Stance on West Lake Landfill Nuclear Waste

Feeling like they have an ally in the fight to remove radioactive waste from the North County area, residents and supports thanks fire officials that stood up and said it needs to be removed from West Lake Landfill.

Members of the West Lake Landfill Facebook page who are residents and supporters, gave a big thank you to the Pattonville Fire Protection District and assistant chief Matt LaVanchy who said last week the nuclear waste at West Lake Landfill needs to go. See: Fire Expert: Landfill Fire + West Lake Nuclear Waste = Potentially Tragic Ending

"We are joining together as a group to thank our local fire department and their board for putting our communities health and well being first and taking a stand on our behalf," Dawn Chapman one of the administrators on the Facebook group said the day prior. "We want to make it clear that we also support them and all they have done for us."

Karen Nickel, another of the five West Lake Landfill Facebook group administrators; along with Ed Smith, Safe Energy Director at the Missouri Coalition for the Environment; and a staff member with Rep. Bill Otto's office  came out in support with about two handfuls of supporters all ready for the area radioactive material to be dug up and shipped out. 

They gave the board all sorts of sweets to say thanks. The fire board approved moving its public participation period to the top of the meeting and gave those in attendance the opportunity to say a few words. 

Pattonville Fire Chief Terry Loehrer was traveling at the time of the impromptu gathering of thanks, but called in to let residents there know the department is serious about the situation and doing all it can. 

"Our primary goal is the mitigation of that fire bed," he said. "We are well concerned to the point we believe this deserves a national spotlight. 

"It needs to be accordingly addressed in that manor with politics a lot higher than a fire protection district."

Loehrer said the district is currently researching its operational needs to mitigate the fire.

"We are looking as well at actions that can be taken at our level to force the mitigation of that fire to benefit not only of the public safety of our workers and residents, but also the workers on the landfill."

Are you just now finding out about this issue? If you want support from your neighbors check out the West Lake Landfill Page and Coldwater Creek Just the Facts Please.

For history on how radioactive waste came to be in the St. Louis area click here. 

For more on radioactive waste in North County see: 


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