Over the last 24 hours reports from St. Louis area news outlets have surfaced about a methane gas exposure issue due to a defunct landfill in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The Missouri Pass Landfill, located near the Ashton Park neighborhood and Ranken-Jordan Pediatric Hospital, has reported elevated levels of methane gas, potentially exposing area residents, families and businesses.
Now, according to the DNR’s press release, letters have been sent to over 150 property owners within 1500 feet of the landfill. As most know, the immediate danger for the folks in Ashton Park and surrounding homes in Maryland Heights, is an explosion. Landfills, of course, are full of decaying waste, which produces methane gas. The gas can migrate underground to nearby homes and, if it leaks through a crack and comes in contact with a pilot light or other flammable material, can become explosive. (Note: You should leave your home immediately if you smell gas and call 911.)
KMOV News Channel 4 is reporting that some property owners were shocked and had no idea about the potential threat of the landfill. And according to a press release from the DNR, “The company will be following up with door-to-door visits in the near future offering to monitor for methane and to provide property owners with an explosive gas meter.”
We’ll keep a close eye on this story as it continues to develop. My hope is that this methane gas exposure is contained and no one’s home or business in the Ashton Park neighborhood or surrounding area has been – or will be – damaged in the process. But if you live in that area or know someone who does, remember – better safe than sorry. If you smell gas, leave your home immediately.
To learn more about our investigation into the Maryland Heights landfill methane gas situation, feel free to Contact Us.
