Dive Brief:

• Republic Services, the owner of the West Lake landfill in Bridgeton, Missouri, has formed a lobbying group that is working to keep buried nuclear waste on-site, rather than transporting the materials to an alternate site in the Western United States.
• The Coalition to Keep Us Safe is pushing for support among legislators and the public to allow Republic to put a rock, clay and soil cap over the controversial site. Research conducted by the EPA shows that a cap would not be an adequate solution if the smoldering underground fire that has burned at the adjacent Bridgeton landfill for three years reaches the West Lake landfill.
• Those in support of the cap will not grant interviews or give their names in order to protect their identities; the PR firm hired by Republic said that coalition members have been harassed by the opposing side for expressing support of capping the landfill. 

Dive Insight:

In March, it was uncovered that Republic Services was conducting telephone surveys to gauge response to removing the waste out-of-state. Republic said the calls were made to educate the public about the risks associated with excavating the site and transporting nuclear waste elsewhere. As part of the EPA's Superfund program, Republic is partially held accountable for the cleanup costs at West Lake.