Home / Environment / Times Beach: A Town Erased by Toxic Oil Contamination
Times Beach: A Town Erased by Toxic Oil Contamination
16 Aug
Summary
- Residual oil used for dust control was found to contain highly toxic dioxin.
- A severe flood in 1982 led to the permanent relocation of residents.
- The contaminated site was later transformed into Route 66 State Park.
In the 1970s, the small Missouri town of Times Beach attempted to mitigate dust on its unpaved roads by spreading residual oil. Unbeknownst to residents, this oil was contaminated with dioxin, a highly toxic substance known to cause severe health issues.
The contamination was first linked to incidents in 1971, where horses and other animals died at stables treated with the mixture. By November 1982, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began testing Times Beach streets for dioxin.
Compounding the crisis, a severe Meramec River flood inundated Times Beach in December 1982. This prompted federal authorities to advise residents not to return. The risk of further spreading the existing contamination fueled the decision.
On February 22, 1983, the EPA, FEMA, and the state of Missouri announced a US$33.1 million plan to permanently relocate the town's approximately 2,000 residents and purchase hundreds of properties.
Decontamination efforts involved an EPA-approved temporary incinerator, which operated from March 1996 to June 1997, treating over 265,000 tons of dioxin-contaminated materials from Times Beach and other Missouri sites.
Following demolition and restoration, the land previously occupied by Times Beach was transformed into the 409-acre Route 66 State Park, officially opening in September 1999. On September 25, 2001, Times Beach was removed from the EPA's National Priorities List.
