Sunday, December 16, 2012
When the dioxin-laden, former city of Times Beach near Eureka flooded in 1984, one Wildwood resident who helped with the cleanup said all residents were kept out of their homes until Christmas that year.
Twenty-eight years ago, a major flood from the Meramec River on Dec. 7 changed the lives of many local residents who resided in the former town of Times Beach. The flood altered the Christmases of many people that year, some of whom still live locally. Marilyn Leistner, one of Eureka's board of aldermen, was the mayor of Times Beach at the time. She was known as a never-ending advocate for her town, said Pat Bellrose, owner of Fahr Greenhouse in Wildwood. Bellrose reminisced about the whole post-flood Times Beach actions, especially his role in the Ecumenical Task Force, driven by several church groups, including Most Sacred Heart of Eureka, St. Marks Lutheran, Central Baptist Church and nearby Menonites. Bellrose said the residents of …
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
EPA Findings: "Soil samples from Route 66 State Park show no significant health risks for park visitors or workers."
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 officials on Monday declared Route 66 State Park in Eureka safe for visitors and workers after a dioxin soil sampling project initiated this summer. The park is property of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. DNR representatives requested soil sampling during June to apply new sciences to test for traces of dioxin in the soil. See related articles published in June by Eureka-Wildwood Patch: EPA Revisits Times Beach Former Dioxin Site 15 Years Later Former Times Beach Mayor: "We Know Dioxin Is There" EPA Gathers Soil Samples at Route 66 State Park in Eureka to Check Dioxin Levels Results from a new soil sampling technique called "dioxin toxicity criterion," finalized in February…
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Integrity of Environmental Protection Agency rep Bob Feild, the same manager assigned to oversee safety reassessment of Wildwood's Strecker Forest Development near the former worst U.S. Superfund site, has been called into question.
Trust is waivering of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official scheduled to deliver the agency's final report regarding the long-term health safety of Wildwood's former Superfund site area at a public open house June 21. EPA Project Manager Robert "Bob" Feild is the subject of a lawsuit in Omaha, NE, which alleges he covered up information about the causes of lead contamination there, per Union Pacific representatives. See legal documents that accompany this article. Feild is the same project manager with whom Wildwood city representatives have been dealing to determine if land encircling the former Superfund spot in Wildwood is truly safe for human living. Since 2007, Wildwood representatives have been trading information …
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
FIRST AND ONLY IN U.S.: With new technology to apply, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representatives initiate a new round of ground testing for residual dioxin at Route 66 State Park near Eureka on Tuesday afternoon.
By appearance sake, Route 66 State Park near Eureka looks like any other nice multipurpose place for outdoor enthusiasts. But 20 years ago, the area looked vastly different, as it was the site of one of the worst dioxin-contaminated places in the United States when it was the town of Times Beach, MO, thanks to the poisonous sludges sprayed on its dusty roads by waste hauler Russell Bliss. The sludge oil from Bliss was first found to be contaminated with dioxin during an investigation by EPA teams in 1982. During the same period, the Meramec River flooded the city, and residents were forced to evacuate their homes. Subsequently, the Centers for Disease Control recommended the residents who had been evacuated, as well as those who had …
A meeting hosted by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reps for Wildwood residents will be held June 21 regarding the safety of a proposed housing development on what once was the worst Superfund site in the United States.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials have been busy in Eureka and Wildwood lately. On Tuesday, an EPA team initiated soil samplings to be retested for dioxin levels in what was once Times Beach, MO, and what is now Route 66 State Park near Eureka. This move comes about 15 years after the area was remediated and due to what EPA experts consider new science and technology to apply. An EPA spokesperson told Patch they seek to apply new lessons learned here and best practices for dioxin containment for other sites in the United States. EPA officials also will hold an open house for Wildwood residents on June 21 at 7 p.m. at the Daniel Boone Branch of the St. Louis County Public Library, 300 Clarkson Rd., in Ellisville. Benjamin…
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Former Times Beach, MO, Mayor Marilyn Leistner is now a Eureka alderman. She wonders why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to return to the worst dioxin contamination site—her former city.
Marilyn Leistner no longer governs a city as mayor. Residents of her former municipality, Times Beach, MO, disbanded the city after avalanches of challenges once it was discovered the worst dioxin chemical contamination in history occurred there. Now U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representatives are returning to Leistner's non-existent town Tuesday to collect new soil samples to test, an area that eventually was made into Route 66 State Park. See related Eureka-Wildwood Patch article from Monday: EPA Revisits Times Beach Former Dioxin Site 15 Years Later "I'm uncertain what to think about EPA coming back. It sounds like whitewash," said Leistner. "We know dioxin is there (at what now is the park). They cleaned it up to 20 parts per…
Monday, June 4, 2012
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency teams will start taking new soil samples Tuesday afternoon at Route 66 State Park near Eureka, the former dioxin site cleaned up in 1997-1999. They have new technology to apply.
One of the worst dioxin contamination sites in the United States will be revisited, about 15 years after it was made into a Missouri state park. Come Tuesday afternoon, Route 66 State Park visitors near Eureka will see U.S. Environmental Protection Agency teams again digging in soil at the park. Tuesday will represent the first time new EPA technology will be applied anywhere in the United States. Being called "the ideal field laboratory" by EPA experts, EPA’s pilot study at Route 66 State Park located off Interstate 44 is expected to produce new data and information to contribute to EPA’s broader knowledge of dioxin, and guide federal and state agencies toward the most effective means of addressing dioxin at other locations. Times Beach …
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Leistner's seen the best and worst the area offers. This is the first in a series of features that profile Eureka's board of aldermen. Check back each day this week for the next feature.
If Marilyn Leistner seems unflappable during Eureka’s aldermanic meetings, it’s because she’s seen much worse in her political career. In 1981 Leistner was elected mayor of Times Beach, MO. Eighteen months later, the town was discovered to be contaminated by dioxin, and less than a month after that, the Meramec River flooded the entire town. From being mayor, Leistner suddenly found herself named trustee of an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund waste site, featured in everything from People magazine to the Proceedings of the Third Annual Hazardous Materials Management Conference. “It was that experience, and some encouragement from friends to use what I learned there to best serve the community of Eureka,” recalled Leistner. …
Kim
3:53 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
By the way, Russell Bliss sprayed the streets with that poison from 1972 to 1976 and the flood was December 1982. I know because I lived there and we lost nearly everything! I am assuming from your comment David, that you and your loved ones were not affected by Russell Bliss' blatant disregard of human life. more ›