About the Times Beach, Missouri Incident

[HeyHomie]

Background article, in case you’re unfamiliar with the story.

The Wikipedia article I linked leaves a couple of questions unanswered.

Plagued with a dust problem in the early 1970s due to its 23 miles (37 km) of dirt roads and lack of pavement funds, the city of Times Beach hired waste hauler Russell Bliss to oil the roads in the town in 1971. From 1972 to 1976, Bliss sprayed waste oil on the roads at a cost of six cents per gallon used. The roads were later paved.

Bliss had also subcontracted for a subcontractor of Northeastern Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company (NEPACCO), which operated a facility producing hexachlorophene in Verona, Missouri. Some parts of the facility had been used for the production of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, and the waste clay and water contained levels of dioxin some 2,000 times higher than the dioxin content in Agent Orange. Bliss claimed he was unaware that the waste contained dioxin.

This makes it look like NEPACCO had toxic waste that they didn’t want to admit they had, and didn’t know how to get rid of, so they hired “a subcontractor” (who???). This subcontractor didn’t want to deal with it, either, so they gave it to some Joe Shmoe wastehauler, who sprayed it on the city’s streets :eek: !

Is that what happened? If so, did anyone serve prison time for this? (The article mentions that Bliss was never implicated or charged with any crime.)

Also, the article reports that the town was bought out for $32 million (1983 dollars). Did the homeowners get fair value for their homes? And what of the old couple that refused to leave… did they die there?

TIA

[Alvis]

Bliss had also subcontracted for a subcontractor…

… of a subsidiary of a holding company of an offshore…