Dive Brief:

• The EPA has announced that a plan will be in place by the end of 2015 to ensure that Missouri's Bridgeton Landfill fire will not reach the adjacent West Lake Landfill, which holds radioactive waste. 
• EPA's Regional Acting Chief Mark Hague said a permanent fix to the fire — which has caused high levels of fear and concern in the area — will be decided by "solid science" and "good engineering data." Options for a solution include installing an in-ground fire break or suppression barrier, or injecting gases to cease the smoldering. 
• Hague insists that the fire is not rapidly advancing toward West Lake, and the chance that the fire will reach the radioactive waste is a "highly unlikely event."

Dive Insight: 

There is uncertainty and disagreement among Missouri officials, the EPA, and landfill owner Republic Services as to whether the Bridgeton Landfill underground fire is moving toward West Lake Landfill. 

"While there has been much back-and-forth over the past few weeks over how dangerous the landfill might be, at least three things are certain: The landfill is still burning, it still stinks, and Republic hasn’t paid for the environmental damage it has done," said Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster to WKBN.

Hague, however, insists that a solution to the issue cannot be rushed. "That work takes time," he said. "We're not going to rush it just for expediency."

If a solution is not found soon, a potentially "catastrophic" incident could send radioactive pollution over highly-populated area of the St. Louis region. In the incident of an emergency, evacuation and disaster plans have been written for residents.