The EPA has discovered radioactivity in the Missouri landfill that exploded last month, but won't say how much.
The landfill, which is on fire, is owned by Republic Services. Sanitation baron Bill Gates is by far Republic's largest shareholder, owning about 25 percent of the company.
KMOV reported on Monday that an EPA airplane flying over the landfill near St. Louis detected radiation. Not surprising, since radioactive waste was buried in the site.
Local residents are concerned about foul odors emitted by the landfill. They're also worried about a recent explosion, which was caused by work crews. Only the company didn't want to call it an explosion, preferring "void space with pressurized gas" or "a violent forceful event."
The exploding radioactive landfill tends to undermine Gates' attempt to be seen as "benevolent." Ellie Mae O'Hagan raised questions about his stated objective of eradicating polio in a Guardian column:
Given that polio is primarily transmitted via the gruesome faecal-oral method, one might assume that Gates is committed to excellent standards of sanitation in every corner of the globe. One might also assume, therefore, that Gates also ensures the waste management company he has invested in, Republic Services makes excellent sanitation the only priority of its operation – more important than making profits.
Alas, if you did make these assumptions about Bill Gates, you would be wrong. For as he jets off around the world to promote polio vaccinations and "environmentally friendly toilet seats", Republic Services is locking out its workers as part of an industrial dispute, a practice which may jeopardise the sanitation of American communities. According to the Teamsters union, which represents the employees of Republic Services, workers have been subject to lockouts for protesting against the destruction of already modest pensions, unpaid overtime, and illegally abandoning contracts agreed upon with the union. In 2012, Republic Services' practice of locking out protesting workers led to stoppages in at least 13 American cities. Teamsters has called on Gates to use his wealth and influence – that same wealth and influence he's planning to use to eradicate polio – to put an end to this dispute. So far Bill Gates has not responded.Read more about Republic here at www.pickupthegarbage.com.
