Former Missouri State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Kirkwood and Don Corrigan in 2020.
By Don Corrigan
Missouri has acquired a national reputation as a toxic waste dump for many of the nation’s most toxic waste materials. Witness the ongoing fight over decades of radioactive materials dumped in North St. Louis County.
Alarms have also been raised over toxic waste deliveries to a warehouse in Berger, Mo., a Missouri River bottoms town located between Washington and Hermann.
By early 2014, roughly 13 million pounds of hazardous sandblasting waste had been shipped to a warehouse near Berger, creating yet another major environmental contamination site. The waste, stored in sacks and drums, consists of plastic powder contaminated with heavy metals including lead, cadmium, and chromium.
The waste originated from U.S. Technology facilities across the country, and was moved to Berger after recycling plans in Mississippi collapsed.
The material was placed inside a large, vacant warehouse, where it remained for years without approved recycling or disposal. Over time, containers ruptured, bags tore and powder spilled onto floors and into surrounding areas, increasing the risk of human exposure and environmental contamination.
Regulators later determined the waste had been “speculatively accumulated,” meaning it qualified as hazardous waste and had been illegally transported across state lines without proper permits.
Despite state and federal agencies being aware of the site, the waste has remained in Berger for nearly a decade. Cleanup efforts were slow and complex, ultimately requiring intervention by environmental authorities and significant public funding.
The Berger site is now subject to long-term federal remediation to address ongoing contamination risks.
(Information for this story provided by the Substack Newsletter of Deb Lavender, former Missouri State Legislator.)
Environmental Echo 