Document 0yY56dQmZw5q4bOmNew0g7GJ

zw ' , y/Vn... ' ' : i State Says EUisville Firm Polluted Meramec Tributary With* PCBs By MARTHA SHIRK Of U># rost-Dlspatch Stall . A waatMil firm based In EIHsvitle has baan accused by tha state of depositing waato contaminated with an extremely hazardous chemical in an earthen pit adjoining a tributary of the Meramec River in Jefferson County. Some of the waste seeped, into the stream aad hilled some fish and craw* fish, state officials say. The wastes are potycMorawied biphenyls, or PCBS. One of the state's complaints is that it doesn't know where the waste is now. Russell Bllaa, owner of Bliss Salvage OB Co., was named as the defendant in a Nh Iliad yesterday in Jefferson County Circuit Court by Dan R. Summon, an Mfltt-- attorney general. Plaintiffs art the state, the Department of Natural Beanerrm and the Clean Water Commie- sion. > '. The suit seeks an injunction against transportation of tha wastes and penal ties ef 110,010 tor each day ihe wastes were kept at the pit or allowed to stop late the stream. ... One stele official aaM tha situation had presented a "real, real chases of a lot of Injury." PCBs hava been used since 1929 in electrical transformers and capedtaton, fat lubricants, in waterproofing chemicals and In "carbonless" duplicating paper. The only domestic producer of the chemicals Is the Monsanto Co. ol St. Louia. Bui Monsanto has said it will stop producing PCBs by Oct. 31 became of the risk they pose. Although some pollutants are more toxic then PCBs, few are more resistant lo breakdown by natural forces. Traces of PCBs have been found in fish in many of the country's watersheds: they are known to cause skin diseaae and liver disturbances. The state's suit alleges that agents or employes of Bliss deposited liquid, semi liquid and solid wastes in a pit on property owned by A1 Harris, just off Calvey Creek Road near Cedar Hill, about 30 miles southwest of St. Louis. The dumping began on Feb. 19; the state became aware of it on March 25 after neighbors complained of foul odors. Several days latar. BUss arranged for the removal of the wastes. The stale says in its petition that it has been unablt to find (hose wastes. The stale says Bliss has given the Department of Natural Resources conflicting reports about their whereabouts. . The inability to locate the wastes at tha moment presents a serious health hazard and a public nuisance," a stale official said. . Preliminary testa on residua In the pit Indicated the presence of several toxic chemicals besides PCBs. Tests on the water in the creek, a nameless offshoot of Calvey Creek, have not been complet ed. Caivey Creek flows into the Meramec River about 10 miles from the disposal sits. Several weeks ago, the Cedar Hill Fire Department extinguished a fire at the site. Jefferson County Fire Marshall Calvin Woodard said tha fire had been set by the owner of the property, Horns. "He was running a salvage operation by fire,*' Woodard said. '*lt was the first and only time that he will do that.'* Harris is not cited in the state's suit. ] I Bliss refused to comment on the stale s allegations. The company's office is on Strecker Road in EUisville. Bliss picks up waste oil from about 1800 customers in the St. Louis area, moat of them service stations and trucking companies. Bliss was involved in a weU-puMietzad mishap in 1971 involving the disposal of soma hazardous wastts containing a toxic chemical known as dioxin. Waste oil containing dioxin waa sprayed at three riding stable* in central and western Missouri by a driver for BUsa; the aim was to control dust. - . i | j ( \ Within weeks, however, the chemical had killed 67 horses, thousands of birds and a dozen cau and had sickened 10 persons. In 1974. the cause ef the trouble was discovered by scientists at the federal Center (or Disease Control in Atlanta. In addition, heavy residues of PCBs were found in soil samples from the arena at tha time. Bliss was hauling aimusily about IQ.uno gallons of PCB-contammat ed wastes from a transformer company. he told scientists in Adams. A hearing on the slate's petition for a [ i | | I temporary injunction has been set lor 9 i a.m. Tuesday in the counroom of Circuit I Judge Charles Sheehan. I HONS 002593