Times Beach, Missouri was evacuated and later demolished after its dirt roads were sprayed in the 1970s with waste oil contaminated by TCDD dioxin, which left widespread soil contamination across the town. After Environmental Protection Agency testing in December 1982 found dioxin along nearly all 23 miles of roads and a major flood threatened to spread it further, federal and state agencies bought out more than 2,000 residents, disincorporated the town in 1985, and completed a cleanup that turned the site into Route 66 State Park.
What happened at Times Beach, Missouri?
Beginning in 1972, a local waste-oil hauler, Russell Bliss, sprayed Times Beach’s unpaved roads for dust control. Unknown to the town, some of the oil had been mixed with still-bottom residues from a chemical plant near Verona, Missouri. Those residues contained TCDD dioxin, among the most toxic members of the dioxin family. By late 1982, following years of scattered animal deaths at stables that had also been sprayed, the EPA sampled soils in Times Beach and detected contamination townwide. A record Meramec River flood hit one day after sampling was completed, prompting authorities to advise that the town not be reoccupied. The federal government funded a buyout and relocation, the state disincorporated the town in 1985, and all structures were removed by the early 1990s. The site is now Route 66 State Park.
EPA testing in December 1982 found dioxin in soils along nearly all of Times Beach’s 23 miles of roads, and the CDC recommended the town not be re-inhabited.
How did dioxin contaminate the town?
The contamination traced back to the Northeastern Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company (NEPACCO) operations near Verona, Missouri. NEPACCO manufactured hexachlorophene from 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, a process that can form TCDD as a byproduct. To cut disposal costs, NEPACCO’s contractor moved the concentrated residues offsite, and Bliss mixed some of those residues with used motor oil that he sprayed for dust suppression. He applied the mixture at horse arenas, farms, and eventually across Times Beach’s roads between 1972 and 1976. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first found dioxin at contaminated stables in the 1970s, and later investigations connected the dots to Times Beach. A detailed historical summary appears in the Times Beach, Missouri history.
TCDD is a highly persistent pollutant. Current estimates put its environmental half-life in soil at about seven to eleven years, which complicates remediation and risk management.
For background on dioxins and health, see the World Health Organization’s overview of dioxins and their effects on human health and the U.S. EPA’s dioxin resources.
How was Times Beach cleaned up?
After the buyout, authorities consolidated contaminated materials at the site. An on-site incinerator, built in 1995, destroyed dioxin-contaminated soils and debris from Times Beach and other Missouri locations. According to historical accounts, the system treated over 265,000 tons of material, and cleanup finished in 1997. The EPA later deleted Times Beach from the National Priorities List in 2001, indicating that no further remedial action was necessary for the intended land use. The area reopened as Route 66 State Park in 1999, and subsequent sampling in 2012 found no significant health risks for visitors or staff. See the Wikipedia summary and sources for these dates and figures.
What were the health risks and outcomes?
Dioxin contamination is associated with risks that depend on dose, route of exposure, and duration. Acute high exposures can cause chloracne and other toxic effects. Chronic exposures raise concerns about cancer and developmental and immune impacts. In Times Beach, officials took a precautionary approach due to extensive soil contamination and the site’s floodplain setting, which increased the potential for spread and exposure. Later reviews did not find clear, population-level disease patterns directly attributable to the town’s exposures, but absence of definitive epidemiology does not equal absence of risk. Authoritative guidance on dioxin toxicity is available from the WHO and U.S. EPA.
What laws and accountability followed?
Times Beach unfolded as the United States was strengthening hazardous waste controls. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA, 1976) governs hazardous waste generation, transport, and disposal, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund, 1980) created the cleanup and liability framework for abandoned hazardous sites. Under CERCLA, companies linked to Missouri’s dioxin releases were held financially responsible in court. Learn more at EPA’s overviews of RCRA and Superfund.
The Verona industrial corridor remains under regulatory scrutiny. In 2024, for example, the EPA and DOJ reached a settlement with a Verona facility over air emissions of a carcinogenic sterilant, underscoring continued oversight of chemical risks in the region (KY3 local reporting).
What is at Times Beach today?
The former town is now Route 66 State Park, a 419 acre site that commemorates the historic highway and the community’s history. The park’s visitor center occupies a preserved roadhouse from Times Beach’s early years, and a grass-covered mound contains the debris of the demolished town. For a concise overview of the site’s evolution from evacuation to park, see Times Beach, Missouri.