St. Louis Region
The West Lake Landfill is a place to check, not panic over
North St. Louis County has a documented radiological cleanup history tied to Manhattan Project-era waste; it is a matter of checking official records calmly, not a reason for alarm.
Part of north St. Louis County has a known history with radioactive waste. The waste dates back to the 1940s, when uranium was processed here for the Manhattan Project (the U.S. effort to build the first atomic bomb). Some of that old waste ended up at the West Lake Landfill. The landfill is now a federal “Superfund” site. Superfund is the U.S. EPA program that cleans up the country’s most polluted places. Waste also reached nearby Coldwater Creek. Federal agencies have studied these areas and are working to clean them up.
You do not need to panic. These sites have official records you can read. If you are thinking about property nearby, check the EPA site page and the federal cleanup program for the latest status of that exact spot. Do not rely on rumors or social media.
References
More from St. Louis County: browse every local note for the county.
Last checked against the sources above: June 15, 2026.