US used dioxin-laden oil for dust control in a town with 2,000 residents, only to spend $33.1 million for their relocation in order to protect their lives

At times, things go wrong even when you try with all your might to ensure they are right. It was in the 1970s, that Times Beach, a small town in Missouri, attempted to solve a common problem for dirt roads by spreading residual oil to reduce dust. Years later, it was discovered that some of that material contained dioxin, a highly toxic substance that would trigger the permanent relocation of the Times Beach population. The situation escalated further after a severe flood of the Meramec River in December 1982. With the town flooded and contamination already identified, federal authorities advised residents not to return.Oil used to remove dustTimes Beach was located in St. Louis County, approximately 20 miles — about 32 kilometres, southwest of St. Louis. Its unpaved streets were treated with residual oil as a way to control dust raised by traffic. According to historical information published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the oil haulier Russell Bliss was hired in the early 1970s to remove waste from a chemical plant in Verona, also in Missouri.Some of this waste contained 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, known as TCDD, a form of dioxin. Bliss mixed the ma...