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EPA Orders Fire Prevention Steps for Troubled Landfill

St. Louis Arch
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The Environmental Protection Agency is ordering surface fire prevention measures at a St. Louis-area landfill where nuclear waste was illegally dumped in 1973.

The order announced Thursday follows a grass fire that occurred at West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton in October.

The order requires companies associated with West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton to clear trees and brush and place noncombustible material on the surface, among other steps. The EPA is requiring a written plan within three weeks.

The Oct. 24 brush fire was blamed on a faulty utility pole. The EPA found no evidence the fire created any hazard for nearby homes or businesses.

Meanwhile, an underground fire smoldering for years is no more than 1,200 feet away at the adjoining Bridgeton Landfill.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
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