JEFFERSON CITY (AP) The Missouri Senate has passed and sent on to the House a buyout program targeting homes near near Bridgeton Landfill and adjacent West Lake Landfill. Cold War-era nuclear waste was buried at these locations in the 1970s. The measure, sponsored by State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, would allow residents to apply for buyouts for homes found uninhabitable due to contamination or within 3 miles of sites with high levels of dissolved radium in groundwater.
The E-P-A has said that despite radioactive waste and an underground fire at Bridgeton Landfill, there’s no increased risk for neighboring residents. The agency also hasn’t found evidence that radioactive material has migrated beyond the landfill.

Sen. Chappelle-Nadal’s bill would set a $12.5 million cap on buyouts.