Spring Break
Concerns still linger about sludge in northeast Missouri
Alexia Lang
Issue date: 8/24/09 Section: News
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Students and professors on the UMKC campus have begun to take an interest in seeking answers. We will continue to report any news relating to the case and its connections to UMKC. To read past articles, visit www.unews.com and search for "Cameron."
Worry, fear and a desire for answers were just a few reasons residents from northeast Missouri gathered the evening of July 7 at Missouri Western State University.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services held a meeting to release an update on their investigation into the St. Joseph-based Prime Tanning Corp. (formerly National Beef Leathers) - which is the latest lead in the year-long investigation into the cause of more than 70 tumor cases reported near Cameron, Mo.
In April, investigators working with environmental activist Erin Brockovich discovered a leather tannery bi-product containing the highly toxic hexavalent chromium has been distributed to farmers for use as a fertilizer since 1983.
Bill Rice, an EPA representative, reported that so far investigators have identified 773 distributions made to 116 farms in Andrew, Buchanan, Clinton and DeKalb counties.
However, he said all of the eight soil samples taken from three farms known to be contaminated tested below the screening level considered safe for long-term exposure.
"Results from the first round on testing show hexavalent chromium in the soil samples at levels below that established as a risk-free level of 86 parts-per-million," Rice said. "Hexavalent chromium was not detected in any of the water samples that were taken. This means that, gauging on our first round of testing, we have not found hexavalent chromium above levels where we would expect to see adverse health effects."
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