ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – A report released Thursday by the group Environment Missouri claims that industrial facilities dumped more than 2 million pounds of toxic chemicals into state waterways in 2010.
“Missouri’s waterways are a polluter’s paradise right now,” said Sarah McFarland, state field associate with Environment Missouri, during a press conference at Tower Grove Park in south St. Louis. “Polluters dump millions of pounds of toxic chemicals into our lakes, rivers and streams every year, threatening the environment and our health.”
Some findings in the report entitled “Wasting Our Waterways”:
* The Mississippi River comes in second in the nation in terms of toxic contamination, surpassed only by the Ohio River.
* A Tyson Food Inc processing plant in Pettis County was the single largest source of toxic releases in Missouri in 2010, dumping 410,000 pounds of toxic chemicals into Little Muddy Creek.
* In 2010, 5,107 pounds of chemicals linked to reproductive disorders were discharged in the Upper Black River watershed, and 4,843 pounds into the Meramec River watershed, puting both among the Top 10 most contaminated in the nation.
The group’s calling on the Obama administration to restore Clean Water Act protections to the 72,000 miles of streams in Missouri left vulnerable by legal loopholes.