During its investigations in the 1980s, the EPA rejected all the sites that Bliss may have sprayed before or after accepting the Verona waste, claiming those locations could not have possibly been contaminated with dioxin from the Verona chemical plant. There are no signs to warn these park users that they are trekking through a hazardous waste site. Jerry Wurm is referring to Tom Uhlenbrock, who first reported the Wildwood development plans in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on June 11. He was 80. chemical plant, where the EPA presumes all of the toxins originated. The full history of the Callahan site and the others in the Caulks Creek watershed remains something of an enigma. After a 30-day public comment period, the agency will then decide which means of remediation to pursue. Among those who doubt the EPAs blanket endorsement is Tammy Shea, a Wildwood resident. An EPA tracking sheet lists 29 such sites. "His loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on," the family said. When a Missouri assistant attorney general asked the waste hauler in 1977 to identify his top customers, the first words out of Bliss mouth were, Oh, I would say Monsanto.. Donna Lopers family moved to Times Beach when she was 6 months old. Alligator removed from South Carolina resident's garage. On the other side was a small but vocal group of peopleLeistner estimates 50 of Times Beachs 801 familieswho argued that the dioxin wasnt a threat. I know Monsanto was not a viable defendant in this litigation.. The highest measure of contamination found at McDonnell Park is 275 parts per billion (ppb). Ultimately, the state accepted $94,000 in 1988 as its part of a $660,000 settlement with several companies, a fraction of the estimated overall cleanup cost. But at this point, I cant really discuss the alternatives. Copyright 2023 SLM Media Group. Although the state hastened to dispose of hundreds of barrels at the Callahan site in the early 1980s, the EPA did not close its case on the property until last September. Some even refused to shake his hand. Whether the 88-year-old wants to be is another story. "Then the dioxin scare hit and most said they didn't want to fight it," said Charlie Stone, the park owner. It appears that it is possible that certain leads werent followed up on because they didnt fit their theory of where this waste came from.. Its good to put a lot of thought into a process such as this, but when are we going to see some outcome? The new site also raises the specter that there may be an untold number of other contaminated sites waiting to be found. I dont really think there was enough dioxin down here to do anything, he says. There are probably a lot of people who are unaware, she adds. 67115 (Mo. At the time, the EPA considered anything above 1 part per billion hazardous. Businesses were locating there, Leistner says. ), The worst thing is not knowing, Taylor says. Even so, he has consistently denied having any knowledge that the materials were toxic. Defense attorney Charles Shaw said no decision had been made whether to appeal the sentence, which included fines totaling $8,000. No further actions were taken at these locations. Tests show dioxin in the fish. Bliss has accounted for spreading at least 7,000 gallons of dioxin-contaminated oil across the state, but officials fear there was much more. I believe that the whole area there is littered with contamination pockets, she says. He arrives wearing the uniform of politics: a blue suit, white shirt, tie, cuff links. While the CDC warned residents to evacuate and stay out to avoid dioxin exposure, the jury is still out on its long-term effect on humans, as well as the extent of contamination. Times Beach, which involved burning over 265,000 tons of dioxin contaminated waste from more than two dozen sites in eastern Missouri. April 28 (UPI) -- A British piercing enthusiast broke his own Guinness World Record when the number of flesh tunnels in his face increased to 17. We decided that we would do it ourselves, so we started taking up a collection to pay to have our streets tested. When the EPA got wind of that, it decided to test immediately, too. Natalies ashes will be spread in a private family ceremony at the barn, her favorite place on Earth. Young wonders if a hysterectomy at 23, headaches so severe that medicine can't relieve the pain, her sons' rashes and birth defects in the children of several neighbors came from exposure to the toxic chemical. is jerry russell bliss still alive Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. After the flood, 40 residents at one trailer park vowed to go home again. A Post-Dispatch story dated April 4, 1983, describes the 500 cubic yards of soil stored at the Callahan site as being contaminated., A later EPA inspection showed that the land had subsequently subsided and would require stabilization. I think its unfair, unjust All my friends say that I was a scapegoat.. The only building that remains is a former roadhouse, now a museum and gift shop. It was only by chance that officials discovered dioxin here two weeks ago after interviewing residents who recalled that a trucker had sprayed oil on their dirt roads to keep down dust a decade ago. But what we want is a modicum of honesty.. There are a lot of people I know who were exposed to the same stuff and moreand didnt., Today, the land that was once Times Beach has been turned into Route 66 State Park. Judy Piatt, who was co-owner of Shenandoah Stables in 1971 when the arena was oiled for dust control, testified that the driver for Russell Bliss, a waste oil dealer, ''told me there was special stuff put in the oil for special customers that would kill flies.''. Natalie faced her 20-year battle with Multiple Sclerosis with bravery, grace, and dignity. For about a week and a half, that was the biggest topic.. Monsanto is where we got the pesticide, the stuff that I thought smelled like bug spray. ST. LOUIS -- Waste-oil hauler Russell Bliss, who allegedly sprayed dioxin-contaminated oil around the state in the 1970s, was sentenced Friday to one year in prison on unrelated charges of income tax fraud. Jerry Russell Bliss, Age 66. aka Jerry Bliiss. Leistner remembers Times Beach kids being ostracized at school. For both PCBs and dioxin, it was a yes. WebIn his early life, Jerry Hicks had been a circus acrobat for two years in Cuba, and then, beginning in 1948, had toured for 20 years as a musician, master of ceremonies, and comedian. The offers were very low, so we got organized, Leistner says. Sue OLeary, 76, lived in the Beach for 20 years. A flood, thats real. asked Bill Keffer, the beleaguered EPA engineer in command here. People magazine profiled their last stand. Former company officials said their warnings were ignored. In 1925, folks who paid $67.50 for a six-month subscription to the old St. Louis Times received a tract in Times Beach. At the moment, shes trying to find the spot where her house used to be, but with the flower garden gone, shes just not sure. For four or five months, that site has been standing there idle. Times Beach was on her list, she said. Dioxin is considered a probable human carcinogen and is known to cause reproductive and immunological health problems in animals and humans. Indeed, no homeowner in Times Beach has flood insurance because the town voted itself out of the federal flood insurance program. In an effort to control the dust, the city hired waste oil hauler Russell Bliss to spray them down, which he did multiple times between 1972 and 1976. She took photos, dispatching them along with names of chemical companies and sites he visited to EPA and state officials in 1972. She serves as a Eureka alderwoman, continuing a career in public service that had been cut short when her stint as mayor of Times Beach ended with the towns abolishment. I'm staying until they make me leave.". The walls smelled. But for the average person, its still unwise to smoke four packs a day. To pad the citys coffers, it stationed a cop with a radar gun out on the highway. Sometimes, Copeland and Bunch would spend a summer day walking the railroad tracks on the west end of town. April 28 (UPI) -- Animal services officers in South Carolina responded to a home where a resident was shocked to find an alligator in his garage. It isnt necessary for the EPA to raid TBAGs files to find this information because the agency already has the original documents in its own archives. Dioxin clings to dirt and dust particles and officials fear that residents may inhale it or swallow it if they return home. The discovery of the Lemar and McDonnell sites came after the closing of the controversial Times Beach dioxin incinerator in June, which precluded burning the waste locally. Nobody knew it then, of course, but that oil contained massive levels of dioxin, far more than the oil sprayed at Times Beach. Our city adopted a resolution asking them to remedy this problem as quickly and efficiently as possible, says LaGarce. Mennonites came in to help rebuild. Investigators rely on decade-old memories of people like Covert, a tall, thin man who claims a variety of ills from chemical exposure, to follow the toxic trail.
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