Times Beach

ON THE MERAMEC River in Missouri, Times Beach was primarily a small resort community with a population just over 1,000 citizens. Sadly, it became emblematic of the discovery of the hazard waste problem characterizing the 1980s and, as such, was rendered a “ghost town” in the early part of the decade due to contamination by dioxin, a cancer-producing chemical.

The tortured journey for this community began when Northeastern Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company, Inc. (NEPACCO), while manufacturing hexachlorophene (an antibacterial agent), leased a production facility from Hoffman Taff. Hoffman Taff (which was later acquired by Syntex Corporation) was the manufacturer of the notorious defoliant Agent Orange created to aid ground-based troops in their combat operations in the Vietnam War. The byproducts of these production processes produced both dioxin and TCP (trichlorophenol) carcinogens. NEPACCO and Independent Petrochemical Corporation (IPC) then arranged for disposal of these wastes with Russell Martin Bliss, a St. Louis-based waste oil hauler and operator of Bliss Waste Oil Company.

Bliss mixed these chemical wastes with waste oil at his Frontenac, Missouri, facility and hauled five truckloads between February and October 1971, with each load containing between 3,000–3,500 gallons of dioxin- and TCP-laced oil. The cashstrapped community of Times Beach contracted with Bliss (for six cents per gallon of waste oil sprayed) to spray numerous roads for dust control over several miles in and around Times Beach. Bliss also sprayed the same contents on parking lots, truck terminals, several horse stables, and a horse ring owned by Bliss.

Over 40 horses died as a result of exposure to the dioxin as well as other livestock, dogs, and birds. Several adults and children were also sickened as a result of their exposure, ranging from diarrhea, headaches, nausea, and skin lesions to hospitalizations for kidney and bladder bleeding. At least one death from soft tissue sarcoma (a rare form of cancer) was tied to dioxin exposure. In total, Bliss sprayed the dioxin-laced waste oil at 28 sites throughout eastern Missouri.

The full extent of contamination became apparent in the early 1980s as the nearby Meramec River flooded the city, further spreading the dioxin over a larger area and forcing residents to evacuate their homes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended in December 1982 those who were evacuated be permanently relocated in what was dubbed the Christmas Message: “If you are in town it is advisable for your to leave and if you are out of town do not go back.” The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transferred approximately $30 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for permanent relocation of residents and businesses in 1983 (and all were relocated permanently by 1986). Those facing relocation complained bitterly about not receiving fair market value for their homes and the manner in which they were portrayed in the media as “greedy” in seeking compensation for their losses.

These events lead the EPA to place these sites on its initial National Priorities List under the provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (1980). This act was designed to remedy the ravages of hazardous waste contamination common to locales such as Times Beach and Love Canal (New York) and led to an eventual cleanup funded by parties responsible for the generation and transportation of the wastes as well as the state of Missouri and the USEPA. The costs for the cleanup were in excess of $100 million. After contentious litigation involving parties responsible for the generation and disposal of the dioxin wastes (Bliss, NEPACCO, Syntex, IPC and others) as well as citizens contesting the EPA's disposal methods and possibility of additional contamination, these wastes were incinerated in Times Beach. Although dioxin contamination was spread over numerous locations in light of Bliss spraying over such an extensive range, Times Beach was selected for the incineration site because of its small size, the largest concentration of contaminated waste, prior evacuation, and it was not yet cleaned and restored. Times Beach recently became Route[Page 809] 66 State Park and has been hailed as an “environmental success story” and offers visitors a history of the contamination as well as hiking, fishing, and camping. Other eastern Missouri communities contaminated by the dioxin-based materials have become upscale housing developments. However, as a legacy of its polluted past, the failure of realtors to fully disclose the extent of dioxin contamination in eastern Missouri to seven potential home buyers culminated in a jury award in excess of $500,000.

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