Michael and Robbin Dailey of Bridgeton filed a lawsuit Tuesday against companies operating the West Lake Landfill because tests they had done on their house show radioactivity levels up to than naturally occurring “background†levels. Forget the glow-in-the-dark jokes, the Daileys fear for their health and the value of their tidy ranch-style house.
The Daileys and other residents near the Bridgeton and West Lake landfills have waited years for assurances they will not suffer health consequences from breathing the air or from radioactive contamination. They worry that their property value has plummeted, making it harder for them to sell and leave.
These residents need relief. The has suggested various cleanup plans over several years, with the latest solution expected by January. It’s not even clear that a solution for the site will solve the problems endured by the Daileys and others like them. Will the companies buy out their houses and compensate them for losses? Who will watch their health in the future and pay for problems if they arise? Whose responsibility is the problem anyway?
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The Daileys turned down a settlement offer two years ago for having endured foul odors from the Bridgeton Landfill and said the average offer of $12,750 a household was “sorely inadequate.†Their lawsuit is against private companies managing the landfills and has nothing to do with the odor.
The Daileys allege their property contains radioactive dust traceable to a highly concentrated uranium used to develop nuclear weapons by in the Manhattan Project, according to the Post-Dispatch’s Bryce Gray.
The byproducts were dumped into an unlined, 200-acre hole beginning in 1973 that later became West Lake Landfill. After saying repeatedly that radioactive waste had not migrated off the landfill site, the EPA confirmed in April that it would clean up contamination in soil on private property adjacent to the landfill.
Exposure to radioactive materials is a health hazard that can cause cancer. Michael Dailey, 63, and Robbin Dailey, 61, are asking that their future health be monitored and that the companies managing the site pay for their relocation.
They paid $110,000 for their house in 1999 but doubt they could sell it at market value today. “Who would want it?†Michael Dailey asked. “It’s scary. It’s like living in a state of you don’t know what’s going to happen with your health next.â€
Republic Services, the landfill’s operator and a defendant in the lawsuit, said the site and surroundings are safe. “We have not seen the suit, or any scientific data to support its foundation,†said the company’s representative, Russ Knocke.
The companies involved and the federal government must for the health and welfare of residents in the region. These people have been waiting for too long.