Earlier in 2015 the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the world Doomsday Clock up to three minutes to midnight, reflecting the dangers of nuclear proliferation and the potential of nuclear weapons falling into villainous hands. A recent development in the heart of the United States, though, serves as a chilling reminder of the atomic legacy of the 20th century.

A landfill in the St. Louis, Missouri, area has contained a smoldering fire underneath its surface since 2010. A burning landfill is, in the best circumstances, not good for a community. But this is far from the best circumstances. Jim Salter of U.S. News and World Report wrote:

“Beneath the surface of a St. Louis-area landfill lurk two things that should never meet: a slow-burning fire and a cache of Cold War-era nuclear waste, separated by no more than 1,200 feet. Government officials have quietly adopted an emergency plan in case the smoldering embers ever reach the waste, a potentially ‘catastrophic event’ that could send up a plume of radioactive smoke over a densely populated area near the city’s main airport” (“St. Louis Plans for Catastrophic Nuclear Event,” Oct. 6, 2015).

It’s a scary prospect for St. Louis residents and a reminder to all of us of the dangers of nuclear weaponry. We’re still dealing with the results of nuclear development, both from waste and from potential warfare. (Source: U.S. News and World Report.)