Landfill odor: Health problems, but no elevated cancer risk

By JIM SALTER
Associated Press

Missouri’s health department has announced findings of a lengthy examination of the troubled Bridgeton Landfill in suburban St. Louis, determining that the odor emitting from the landfill created some health concerns but did not increase the risk of cancer. The landfill has been a source of concern for years. Uranium refined in St. Louis as part of the Manhattan Project was illegally dumped at the adjacent West Lake Landfill in 1973. Meanwhile, a smolder was discovered underground in 2010 at Bridgeton Landfill, just a few hundred yards away. The cause remains unknown, but the resulting odor was so pungent that many nearby residents complained of illness and were often forced to stay inside.