Dive Brief:

• A consultant retained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources determined that the underground fire smoldering at the Bridgeton landfill in Missouri is increasing in size and inching closer to the radioactive waste buried in the West Lake landfill. 
• The report contradicts Republic Services'  -- the company that maintains the landfill -- claims that the fire is at a “managed state.” 
• The consultant, Todd Thallhamer, said the subsurface fire is heading south and toward the “neck area,” based on data collected on site. The neck area is the part of the landfill located next to the radioactive waste. 

Dive Insight:

Russ Knocke, a Republic Services spokesperson, said the fire is moving South and southeast, not into the neck as the new report suggests. At the end of August, Republic Services’ project managers said the underground fire was moving away from the West Lake nuclear waste and the chances of it turning around toward the site were insignificant. 

Earlier this week, the Army Corps of Engineers released a report estimating that work on the barrier that will eventually separate the two sites will not be started until at least 18 months from now. The agency said additional testing must be finished before the project can get underway.