Activists file UN complaint over West Lake Landfill, 05/04/2016

St. Louis Post-Dispatch
by Jacob Barker

Activists pushing for the removal of radioactive contamination in the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton say they have filed a formal complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel, founders of JustMoms STL, and Lois Gibbs, founder of the Center for Health Environment and Justice, were in New York Tuesday to file the complaint. Also with them were some local members of the Teamsters solid waste and recycling division, according to a statement from the union.

The complaint said a fire in the Bridgeton Landfill has caused health problems for nearby residents.Many are concerned it could come into contact with West Lake’s radioactive waste.

The Environmental Protection Agency has overseen West Lake for decades but says it poses no immediate threat. It plans to propose a cleanup by the end of the year.

The UN Human Rights Commission says it will accept human rights complaints after “domestic remedies have been exhausted, unless it appears that such remedies would be ineffective or unreasonably prolonged.”

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/activists-file-un-complaint-over-west-lake-landfill/article_4da0f2b8-85ad-506c-af21-cdc0f232fa78.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

Author: stlradwastelegacy

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