A Brief History of: The Times Beach Dioxin Disaster (Documentary)

[@PlainlyDifficult]

What me to do more videos on ghost towns let me know below! Check me out on Twitter twitter.com/Plainly_D Fancy some of my merch? teespring.com/en-GB/stores/plainly-difficult Fancy supporting me on patreon? www.patreon.com/Plainlydifficult

[@dirtyeric]

Not far from the Tar Creek (Picher, Oklahoma) Superfund Site. Good old AMD next town over the tracks (literally) from my school.

[@bmstylee]

Yeah but Cleveland did one better. They set a river on fire...... serval times. ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Cuyahoga_River_Fire

[@lesliecurtis7575]

Yes! Please 🙏

[@annajacobson3299]

Yes more ghost towns please!!

[@lesliecurtis7575]

I had Russell Bliss’s old phone number for about 2 weeks and after getting calls Day and night had to ask the phone company to change it. 20 years later I May and married a man born and raised in Times Beach. It’s a small 🌎

[@JFStan]

I’m starting to think this channel should just be called “Gross Criminal Negligence” since that’s the cause of most of these disasters.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

I’m going to have to agree with you!

[@twocvbloke]

I dunno, it seems apt, as a lot of businesses, industries and government find it "Plainly Difficult" to get things right the first time even when things are plainly obvious... :D

[@JFStan]

@@PlainlyDifficult love the channel, keep up the good work!

[@rixille]

I concur

[@htopherollem649]

you forgot to add " With little to no consequence and subsidized by the government" and tagged raping the planet to make a dollar !

[@Blueleaf11]

Unfortunately spraying random products on dirt roads to combat dust still happens. I live in a rural area and up until a few years ago every summer they would spray the roads with waste water from a local cheese processing plant. Add that to the heat of the summer the entire area would start to smell like rotten milk for several months. It didn't combat the dust, just coat your vehicle with rotten cheese dust. Eventually we all complained enough and they stopped spraying, it's still a dusty road but at least it's clean dust.

[@TheAnubis57]

Are you kidding me? What brain dead company moron thought that was smart --I'm sure there are other "stuff" in that waste water too.

[@skipfred]

Lmao, that sounds so disgusting

[@pazza4555]

Did they at least have the decency to add crackers dust?

[@rabbit0664]

Dang that's crazy. Glad they stopped. Couldn't survive that smell.

[@Tartersauce101]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Damien.D]

"-This dirt road blows dust everywhere when cars runs on it -let's turn the whole place in a forbidden and heavily polluted zone that slowly kills anyone trespassing!" -There. Dust problem solved."

[@cageybee7221]

even if the oil didn't contain a bioweapon that is still a really bad idea, it's basically an oil spill with all the effects that has on water supplies and nature, and the oily dust is bad for your health too when it does get kicked up sometimes.

[@dx1450]

Can you imagine the major shit fit that the EPA would have if anyone sprayed used oil on dirt roads today?

[@indowneastmaine]

@@dx1450 This absolutely still goes on. I passed a big tanker truck labeled and spraying used oil on roads in an actual provincial Park in British Columbia. I was simply on vacation from rural Maine, and I was shocked to see that!

[@coast2coast00]

They used to spray the logging roads with oil about two times a year, it kept the dust down quite well. Then they stopped doing it and for about 10 minutes after a vehicle passed there was heavy dust in the air. They would spray daily with water in the dry days of summer. If you have more than about 10 vehicles an hour using the road, you really need something or even just the lack of visibility is dangerous.

[@reinbeers5322]

Still goes on in some places but with different oil

[@DarthBlazer.]

Don't lick roads in Missouri, got it

[@jenniferbaldini3527]

DarthBlazer, not gonna lie, snort laughed coffee thru my nose on that comment!! Good one!

[@jeffreyskoritowski4114]

Now ya tell me.

[@bchin4005]

"Show me" the proof 🤣

[@beyondfubar]

Fun fact: he did. Saw this one on a modern marvels episode, they had some kind of a town hall and he put that crap in his mouth. Weird dude.

[@bchin4005]

@@beyondfubar was just making a lighthearted play on Missouri's state motto...

[@hiruharii]

“Looking for a cheap alternative” “but IPC didn’t have the experience“ “he wasn’t aware of the toxic contamination” It’s almost magical.

[@nicolashuffman4312]

Video idea==> A similar thing happened in North Carolina when Ward Transformer company illegally sprayed their PCB waste on roads in several counties. Their site ended up on the superfund list.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[@TycoonTitian01]

Oh yeah! I remember seeing a vid about it, it was baaad

[@bmstylee]

@@TycoonTitian01 is ending on the superfund list ever really good?

[@BenderTheBoiler]

This is my favorite channel for the community, ever ly video I see a great recommendation and the creator always likes it and a few times has made the video.

[@dx1450]

The small town I grew up in in Kansas had gravel streets, and a guy who ran one of the local automotive shops used to pour used oil on the street in front of his house to keep the dust down. Luckily I don't think there was any dioxin in it...

[@okboomer6201]

As a teenager in 1978-9 I worked my first job under the CETA program. Our crew was tasked with converting an old industrial site into a city park. We spent the entire summer developing the park, which had hiking trails through the woods, etc. The pond was stocked with fish, and we built a fishing platform & dock. Long story short: In 1984 it was discovered that the sight was highly contaminated with PCB's. The park closed and fenced off, and the sight excavated and bulldozed. Superfund site, still surrounded with a 10' barbed wire fence to this day. Lansing, MI.

[@marifromky]

omg are you okay?

[@okboomer6201]

@@marifromky No ill effects that I am aware of. I have diabetes, and have had a heart attack, but I am 60 now, so it's not surprising.

[@vivalapita8484]

and that's why they used children to develop the site

[@pazza4555]

@@vivalapita8484 Oh come on. CETA was a good program. I had a CETA summer job in the mid-80s. The redevelopment project mentioned above made sense for a crew of teens to work on. The slipshod safety precautions were the norm at the time regardless of who worked on the project.

[@vivalapita8484]

@@pazza4555 ........I think /s is needed here

[@bchin4005]

"If it sounds like a bad idea, it probably is."

[@numeristatech]

Only if nobody finds out. Until then, let us, $HugeCo find a tiny outfit who will be honoured to work with us and not think to ask questions because we are so big and good we are too huge to be evil !

[@busterbeagle2167]

Alternatively if it sounds like a good idea it probably isn’t

[@DavidCurryFilms]

Obligatory "Missouri loves company" pun.

[@theangriestcatintheworld]

>< (enthusiastic meows)

[@bmstylee]

We could make a company and sell Missouri.

[@grmpEqweer]

I had a Missouri driver repeatedly get in front of me when I was running late. I now think of Missouri as "The Slow-me State."

[@mysock351C]

Or the more obvious one "Ignorance is Bliss", as in the guys last name is literally that.

[@-in-the-meantime...]

"Missouri - our politicians track ladies cycles"

[@justinarthur1451]

As a long time Missourian, it's certainly great to see such messes sorted out. The Route 66 state park is honestly a beautiful place now, with no material dioxin contamination of any kind remaining. Now if only the West Lake landfill could see such action.

[@molderboat]

went yesterday. only complaint is the bridge is completely destroyed. Other than that, so beautiful. you are wrong though, there's still trace amounts of dioxin

[@sweetloutstea1688]

@@molderboat most bridges are shit In mo

[@leahluerssen7027]

@@molderboat Wait whats up with the bridge lmao

[@missouribushwhacker9449]

Why you don't like the iraddiated glow at night😆👌

[@harveywallbanger3123]

The part of the Times Beach scandal that rarely gets mentioned is that the town was cursed from its inception - it was built on a floodplain of the river because that was where land was dirt cheap. The houses were all on stilts because the townsite flooded every year. The roads never got paved because it was an unincorporated slum. It remained this way for decades before Russell Bliss started spraying stuff on the roads. The Federal government getting involved in the dioxin situation coincided with a 30-year flood at Times Beach that ruined a lot of the houses and forced the evacuation of the town for several weeks. Contrary to what you might imagine, the residents were all delighted, as the flooding & evacuation vastly increased their chances of having their utterly worthless bottomland bought out by the Carter Administration... which of course it did. Not on the grounds of flooding (the bigger and more imminent threat) but for the dioxin. It was quite a coup for them. The media was also very pleased with their efforts. Dioxin was only half the reason for Times Beach. The other half was Carter Era EPA political scandal management, a la Love Canal. "The loudest mouth gets the lollipop."

[@thegeneralissimo470]

Don’t forget about metadioxin. Joan Littler: What does "inert" mean? Sir Humphrey: Well it means it's not… ert. Bernard: [to himself] Wouldn't ert a fly.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Great show that yes minster!

[@Grooveboxwoody]

Ohhhh That's where "blissfully unaware" comes from

[@kirknay]

"Ignorance is Bliss"

[@themeanestkitten]

@@kirknay it really is😔

[@daviddavidson2357]

Wait, people sprayed used motor oil on dirt roads to simply get rid of dust? Do they still do that? It seems really shortsighted.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Yep. They did that.

[@kenh3757]

No they don't , and it was the 70s, the dangers of doing these kind of things was relatively unknown, this incident actually played a major role in fixing that,

[@okboomer6201]

Uhh, we still do that in Michigan.

[@BrokenGlytch]

Yeah, they still do it lots of places for both dirt road dust control and gravel roads to keep the gravel in place every year or two. It would be nice to think there are better controls over the specific chemical makeup of what's being sprayed, but I'm not all that confident...

[@abrahamlincoln9758]

It's called 'mettling' They still do it in rural areas with extremely low traffic.

[@colapinklink8120]

Hmm let's spray Industrial waste on roads, what could possibly go wrong.

[@abrahamlincoln9758]

And if anything does go wrong, fallback on the Schultz defense.

[@nnelg8139]

Well, our roads are typically _made from_ industrial waste (asphault)...

[@johnpekkala6941]

@@nnelg8139 However asphalt dont contain industrial toxins added into it and it is probably strictly regulated what road asphalt can and can not contain and it is also a solid so unlike oil and other liquids as with the case here it don't wash out into the nature over time but stays in the roadbed even when raining.

[@leechowning2712]

In this case he was buying used oil, without the company informing him about the highly toxic nature of the oil. The fact that the company got away with only a slap on the wrist by blaming the middleman is fairly annoying.

[@dx1450]

It was the 70's... nobody cared yet.

[@carolinacoreas7716]

You know, the first thing I thought of when I read "Dioxin" was the San Jacinto River Waste Pits in Houston, TX. I used to pass by the northern cap of the waste pits every week going to high school. I haven't heard about it until my physics teacher told us he tried discussing with other city council members the dangers of the dioxin spreading due to a cap leak after hurricane Harvey. Unfortunately, people still swim and even fish very close to the cap despite the warnings and fencing near by.

[@grmpEqweer]

The ones by the I-10 bridge, right? ...Wow, that was such a great place to put a toxic waste site, wasn't it? 🙄 That stuff needs to be put somewhere that isn't highly subject to flooding and barge traffic, then sealed securely.

[@francissobotka8725]

Maybe things would be better if they I don't know removed the contaminates

[@colchronic]

Its still there and it still fucking reaks when driving on I-10, smells like straight cancer

[@AceofCrazy89]

Lol grew up playing paintball literally 30 feet from the fenced off dump site. Used to fish in clear creek down stream of it too. Dixie Chemical still exists meanwhile the taxpayer is stuffed with the bill. Hurray capitalism

[@zzoinks]

@@grmpEqweer I read on the epa website that they are planning on removing the toxic waste from there

[@carlwitt3934]

Times "Beach"... in a landlocked state... with only a small river nearby.

[@ronniefnd]

I love names like that. I live near Mt. Dora Fl..... the closest mountain is probably 12 hours away lol.

[@jesserothhammer7378]

When the only other options are on lakes made by dams with dead trees submerged and and the dirtiest water, you take what you get.

[@TheBenLemonade]

I mean the Meramec isn't exactly small, but calling anything on it a beach is a hell of a stretch for sure lol

[@volvo09]

I love the names of these developments, they're always like the complete opposite. "Chestnut ridge" -where's the chestnut trees, where's the ridge?... "Whispering Pines" -where are the pines? All i see is 150 houses crammed together in an open field without a tree in sight...

[@Dram1984]

The more grandiose the name, the shittier the area. It’s like a law of nature.

[@keeganpenney169]

I hope theres history teachers using your videos to teach out there, you do very excellent work! Keep educating us about the things we should cradle to the grave

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@bronwentillman8385]

If I were to teach, I'd definitely use these videos!!!

[@McGreasyjesus]

my wife was born in Times Beach, and born with cataracts on her eye, and our daughter has hypothyroidism most likely due to dioxin exposure from times beach. you should do a follow up on how the government protected bliss and made it so subsequent generations and victims are ignored and denied assistance , help, or restitution.

[@Oroberus]

Protected? Why you'Re using past tense?

[@erik_dk842]

Ignorance is (named) Bliss

[@brandycopeland3200]

I was born at Times Beach in November 1981. My family's name was Purdom. Please pass this on to your wife. I'd love to compare notes. I have had two brain tumors and my son was born with Autism. God bless ❤

[@crystalsheep1434]

I would like to Believe that Bliss was ignorant, I mean who would knowingly spread toxic chemicals that can kill people throughout a town and also on land that you own and use. Only some sort of mass murder.

[@dvmpstrbby]

My dad lived in Times Beach during the 70s. He doesn't talk about his experience much, but I can tell the dioxin really affected his hormones. Now, I have hypothyroidism and other health issues that could be related, as well as my siblings.

[@Soundbrigade]

WE had a similar "incident" in Sweden where the best way to get rid of poison (fenoxi-chemicals) was to bury it in rusty and leaky oildrums. "What you don't see will probably not hurt you ...."

[@nicholassternon5857]

And what you dont see you will forget about

[@darrellbenbrook6622]

Already knew about this but I still learned a few new things.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@dcviper985]

Same. I didn't know about the Christmas Message or that the company had dumped barrels on a farm. I wonder if they ever found all the illegally dumped barrels?

[@danielhale1]

Yea, first time I watched a video about Times Beach, it didn't cover the companies getting in trouble. I was left thinking "how on earth did they face no consequences?!", but I'm pleased to learn there were lawsuits and fines after all.

[@randomnessrules4971]

Gives a new meaning to "Another One Bites the Dust".

[@curtisbrayfield4548]

You could do stories like this about St. Louis for a whole month. Aside from Times Beach, there were chemicals, lead, and radioactive materials dumped in Busch Wildlife Preserve, and underneath the airport is a huge cavern. At one end are decomposing barrels of radioactive waste, at the other end is a tire fire. Oh, and then the Army used a housing project downtown as a chemical weapons test. Not to mention asbestos mines outside of St. Louis. And my friends and family wonder why I'm never going back.

[@kenosabi]

MO state corruption knows no bounds. My family is from SE MO.

[@mikekeeler6362]

Go over to East St Louis there's an old school house over there that has barrels of contaminated oil in it

[@Hitithardify]

@@mikekeeler6362East Saint Louis also has an abandoned factory that has chemicals in the basement. Here they can mess you up bad.

[@1978garfield]

@@kenosabi IL says hold my beer. When Monsanto needed a place to build a company town and trash dump they did go across the river after all. Sauget IL started life as Monsanto, IL. They changed the name when PCBs were linked to cancer. PCBs were made in 2 places in the US. Anniston, Alabama and Monsanto, er um I mean Sauget, IL.

[@godozo]

1976: I saw a nice looking town. Didn't know what was going on there, but I knew I liked it. 1990: Place looked haunted and abandoned. 1995: Place was now empty, noted a new business center just west of the old Times Beach.

[@MinnesotaExpat]

I love how you're branching out into different types of disasters. I've knew about this disaster (shoutout to Austin McConnell), but your take on it is different and interesting.

[@jannamyers6792]

Thanks

[@AndyBS86]

My Dad was a natural gas worker, he's retired now, but he went through Times Beach shutting off the gas lines as the area was getting ready to be demolition. My Dad knows all about Times Beach and what happened down there. There's now a state park there called Route 66 State Park.

[@daytonahurd6044]

So I have a interest in local history and was surprised to find out how close my family was to this incedent. While working in Verona MO I found out about times beach incedent, and that there was a rumor of farmers being paid 25-50$ a barrel to burry 55 gallon barrels no questions asked. That is a rumor I do not have any evidence. Though after the flood of times beach but before the town was shut down my grandpa towed cars out of the flood zone for residents not knowing about the contamination until 2019 when I asked him about times beach because I knew he lived around it at the time. He informed of Mr. Roy's reputation "as a cheap scoundrel that would screw you over any chance he could make a buck" just some more info on the incedent for you all.

[@1978garfield]

There is a (or at least was) a video on KZbin of the removal of the drums from the farm in Verona. I was suprised the EPA recorded it.

[@marifromky]

@@1978garfield there's almost always film and/or pictures.

[@claymore5347]

Absolutely horrifying. Imagine being told that you have to leave your home and never return because something that you just took for granted every day is secretly killing you in one of the most horrible ways possible. I kinda feel bad for Bliss, too. Guy was just trying to start up a business. I suppose it is kind of his fault for mixing unknown factory oil in with his motor oil, but they should have at least told him what it was. Still, weird to think that all of this could of been avoided if they had just paved the roads.

[@chrismiller7866]

Damn! Another video that takes place less than 20 miles from where I live. I love that youre bringing these more to the light like they should be. The land he owned is still not livable but there are still people living around the area.

[@sirwootalot]

Looks like I had excellent timing , unlike times beach

[@SLKRR]

I remember driving by Times Beach a lot back in the early '90s. There were still a lot of abandoned houses then, and it was eerie because the interstate exit was still there, just blocked off, and a barbed wire fence surrounded everything along one side of the highway. Looks like it's totally different now.

[@isabellaangeline2175]

So much love and respect to our online educators!♥️ Thank you for all of the long hours putting these videos together so that history is never forgotten.

[@javasparkles7330]

I was literally just hoping you'd cover Times Beach. It's a state park now, but I'm still, a nearly 45 year old woman, afraid of the place and hold my breath as long as I can every time I drive by.

[@LostSoulsParadoxicalDoctrine]

I think he did already... can't seem to find, but this looks familiar yet different...

[@Syclone0044]

@@LostSoulsParadoxicalDoctrine I was thinking the same thing, but I’ve watched various videos & TV documentaries on this debacle for 20+ years so I just assumed I confused it with one of those.

[@LostSoulsParadoxicalDoctrine]

@@Syclone0044 I did notice a recent video made private, and this video focused less on the small business... my mind says it was redone and uploaded again... lack of acknowledgement says it might have been a hassle with the previous vid...(had to go looking in playlists to find it btw)

[@dx1450]

I remember when I was around 12 or 13 going on a bus trip to St. Louis... the driver pointed out Times Beach as we drove by on I-44. It was a total ghost town then, but I knew what the deal with the town was because it was in the news just a couple years prior.

[@molderboat]

I wouldn't be too scared. I went yesterday and I'm 15. Ended up fine, no mask either

[@71MercuryCoupe]

Same exact situation happened in Moscow mills Missouri, which is just up the road from where I live, at a horse stable/track called Shenandoah stables. Waste oil would be sprayed for dust control for races and they used the same dioxin contaminated oil to do this. I remember hearing about times beach awhile back from another video and my parents told me about the same thing happening just down the road from home, gotta love this state lol Edit: didn’t watch the vid all the way through and was happy you mentioned the stables as well, and surprised that it was the same guy that ruined times beach as well.

[@goldenpun5592]

looking for a cheaper alternative they hired bender b rodriguez to dispose of the waste by dumping it down the new new york sewer.

[@TheTrainChasingPoet1999]

Bliss still claims no knowledge. Seems to me that he's gonna keep saying that until he dies and will have the words "I didn't know what dioxin was" as his epitaph (the words on his tombstone, for the uninitiated).

[@PlainlyDifficult]

I suppose that’s all he can say, otherwise he’d look even worse!

[@TheTrainChasingPoet1999]

@@PlainlyDifficult Who knows? I've watched several documentaries on this disaster before yours and it sounds to me like Bliss really DIDN'T know and was just scapegoated by the other three.

[@MomMom4Cubs]

I believe a more accurate quote is "I didn't know nothing about dioxin."

[@lsswappedcessna]

Ignorance is bliss. I believe he truly was ignorant and uninformed of what dioxin was or its presence in the waste oil he acquired from NEPACCO. If he were aware of just how bad it was, I see no reason why he would have sprayed it on his own horse track nor any reason he'd have used it in the first place, given how cheap his services were and how cheap regular old used motor oil is. The three oil companies are to blame, not Bliss.

[@theghostofthomasjenkins9643]

@@TheTrainChasingPoet1999 yeah, he was well down the line. nepacco were the ones who were hiding it and they hired IPC and IPC hired bliss. he's just the low man on the totem pole.

[@joemackey8859]

In the late eighties I lived in a house with a barn in the back yard. In said barn I found and took a gallon can of weed killer with the ingredient 24t+24td, having no idea what that means I kept it. At our next house we had some problem weeds and I used it as per directions. 10 years after my ex-wife developed thyroid cancer, she lived although the conversation we had when I told her that the cancer was 1000% my fault went a lot better than I expected. Truth be told I still feel remorseful, she's the mother of my oldest daughter and I would never wish her harm, yet I could have unintentionally killed her with that crap.

[@5roundsrapid263]

It was basically Agent Orange. You had no way of knowing, though. The thyroid is one of the easiest areas to treat. Don’t blame yourself.

[@rosiehawtrey]

Yes and then again, probably no. If that 2,4d or 2,4,5t was the crap sold off by the US army there is a fair chance, IF you used it regularly, if she was standing with you downwind and or mixing it, that she could have been affected. Properly formulated 2,4d has minimal Dioxin. Then you have to factor in she may have had familial genetic markers for thyroid issues - if she had underactive thyroid from autoimmune disorder - that could lead to thyroid cancer. Balance of probability you had nothing to with it, because the soldiers who got cancer from agent orange were literally doused in it (and I'm assuming she didn't take a bath in it) - properly applied at the correct rates - it's extremely unlikely. Get you and kids to doctor for thyroid tests just to be sure, because thyroid problems are often genetic and her getting cancer might have just been a function of time/damage. The chance of you being to blame - 15% tops, if that makes it any easier. A WARNING TO OTHERS. Never ever use agrochemicals that you didn't buy personally, that aren't in their original packaging, that are out of date. If they don't hurt you they'll kill the crop you're trying to protect most likely. And never ever use one formulation for one job to do another job because they have the same active ingredient. Welsh farmers did that with organophosphate weedkiller when sheepdip was banned but weedkiller was 5% and the sheepdip 2.5% - cue very dead sheep and sick farmers.

[@deezelfairy]

I'd say the probability your ex wife got cancer from your use of that weed killer is probably extremely low to nil - can't see how you can be 1000% sure it was your fault,it's unrealistic self-blame really. These weed killers would have been used all over the USA in the time period they were in production, it's not like everybody who used them got cancer. If you were spraying it around everyday for 5 years with no care like a goof than hey, maybe, but it normally takes a prolonged period of low exposure or very high levels of acute exposure. A lot of Vietnam era soldiers got cancer but its not like they used it once in a tiny sprayer on a few daisy's, they were spraying it out of the equivalent of water cannon on PBR boats by the 50 gallon barrel full, probably for weeks at a time - big difference! And SOME of them got cancer, not all, probably not even most! There's a million different things that could have caused you ex wife's cancer, including sheer bad luck.

[@1978garfield]

@@deezelfairy Not every batch of Agent Orange had dioxin in it. When it was made in the laboratory one of its benefits was low toxicity compared to weed killers in use at the time. However when it is made on an industrial scale dioxin can be produced as a byproduct if the chemicals get too hot during production.

[@tncorgi92]

The time frame is interesting, right about then I was in Navy avionics school a way downriver in Millington, TN which also later became a Superfund cleanup site. We threw a lot of chemicals around in the 1980s. I personally was accidentally doused with MEK and wasn't allowed to clean up until hours later. Go Navy.

[@cris_261]

So our fearless hazmat guy stepping on his friend's foot is now conjoined to his buddy, no thanks to cleaning up clipboard guy's messes. With exposure to dioxin, and future toxic chemical cleanups, can mutant power acquisition be far off?

[@denverleatherboy]

Reply to get youtube to pay the channel. #LIKEANDREPLYTOFOOLKZbin

[@MeriaDuck]

Me: feeling guilty when spoiling a few drops of gasoline on a floor meant to catch it. (some state of) USA: spraying whole roads with gallons of oil against dust

[@dx1450]

It was the 70's.... we were still dumping toxic waste into rivers back then.

[@aikidoboynj]

@@dx1450 nothing a few hundred thousand years won't take care of 😂

[@Zyphera]

@@dx1450 I bet many knew but just where happy to close there eyes and smile

[@dx1450]

@@Zyphera I still remember hearing Rush Limbaugh on his radio show claiming that Dioxin wasn't dangerous and they forced everyone out of Times Beach for no reason.

[@Human1337]

About 2 miles from me🤣😑

[@Lipi19821]

Im sorry... :(

[@extec101]

12 finger 12 toes and an extra ear?

[@alistairwhite2906]

Hope it’s all ok for you now.....

[@chudleyflusher748]

At least it was in Missouri and not somewhere important.

[@User-nu6km]

is your son born defected?

[@RagtimePiano]

Always excited for Saturdays because of your channel, bruh

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@ItsJustLisa]

I remember this blowing up in the news and one of the news magazine shows (20/20 maybe?) doing an in-depth story on Times Beach. This was also about the time that Erin Brockovich was investigating other towns that had been victims of big chemical businesses doing whatever they damn well pleased with their waste, almost always on poorer, unsuspecting towns.

[@TheBenLemonade]

Man, I grew up just a few miles up the I-44 from here and I never once even heard about this. Really crazy seeing the map on this chanel and being able to pinpoint my family's home. Crazy stuff. Another great video PD, thanks as always!

[@busterbeagle2167]

My father-in-law was exposed to agent orange in Vietnam it took his sanity he came back from Vietnam but his sanity did not God bless you Larry We miss you 😢

[@countryantiques45]

May your father-in-law be in peace.

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

And we now have a flood of pimple popping videos from vietnam. People who had prolonged contact with AO in the 1970s had terrible skin problems ever since.

[@SadisticSenpai61]

My great uncle has a ton of health problems thanks to Agent Orange exposure. It turns out he has a rare genetic combination that made him predisposed to getting ALS after exposure to AO - it triggered the mutation that gave him ALS. Or something like that - I learned all of this from my great-aunt who seems to not really understand how genetics and diseases work (a reoccurring theme with that side of the family - they seem to believe that diseases spread similar to the "miasma" ideas prior to Germ Theory), so I'm doing some mental translation in my head to make sense of what she told me.

[@keepingitreal6793]

Thanks Plainly Difficult! I’ve been a subscriber for several years now. Sharing accurate information on major disasters definitely helps eliminate misinformation. Your videos also show us how irresponsible we were and how we are improving to protect earth and it’s inhabitants. Although we still have a long way to go, our investigation and understanding combined with advancements in technology is slowly helping us protect each other and prevent further damage to the only home we all share. Thanks again!

[@moregltfirephotography4857]

Great! I recently watched a KZbin documentary on this but yours is way more detailed always happy to see a video from you!

[@Zanthum]

Pretty sure oil spraying to keep down dust is still a thing. I went to a concert a couple years ago and the venue had a gravel and dirt surface. The gravel actually helped with foot fatigue for the 2 day event. The dust covered my shoes and when I got home I had a really hard time cleaning it off. Harder than just dust alone and my dad suggested that it could be oil mixed with the dust that was making it hard to remove. I ended up dunking the entire shoe and I think using dish soap to get it off because if I couldn't the shoes were basically ruined anyway and I am not someone who cares much for everyday shoe appearance.

[@scarletmaye]

I live on Louisiana we do something similar with our beaches since erosion is a huge thing here. They pack down the shore line with mud and a few other things I mostly know of the mud to preserve of sand/coastline. It works a bit idk if it helps tho but its something

[@Matthew-ti4vu]

Wild, most aggregate sites spray water from what i've seen. Doesn't last too long but at least its not oil lmao

[@scarletmaye]

@@Matthew-ti4vu lol yea but mud packs down and stays and helps keep the sand. I haven't been to that specific beach in years so I don't know what is going on there specifically anymore but I found out why there was mud there for and found it interesting

[@lordcaptainvonthrust3rd]

Another brilliant documentary so thank you for your efforts. I was aware of this one and really enjoyed your take on it. That poor guy, Bliss, was well and truly hung out to dry. He hardly comes across as a criminal genius illegally dumping toxic waste in plain view for a quick buck. Whereas the company's involved didn't seem to be strangers to flouting the law. Union Carbide must've taken extensive notes on corporate behaviour to avoidable industrial disasters after this one. I don't mind what subjects you cover next cos they're always informative and enjoyable. Excellent work

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@pastapylon3008]

'If you told me dioxin was some sort of jelly i would put it on toast and eat it'

[@mschaefer4656]

Quote from the man who sprayed the oil. He lost horses to dioxin - another victim, at least, he suffered too, though was someone who trusted people enough when they handed him money that he didn't ask the questions he should have.

[@SirFloofy001]

@@mschaefer4656 My guess is they lied to him and told him it was perfectly safe.

[@sunlightcrusader]

I always researched about this disaster. But I never found much because probably region restrictions. Thanks for this video :)

[@LeahMarshals22]

Legacy scale! The PD disaster scale had a baby! 😁

[@Syclone0044]

I wonder if perhaps his pay-tent 💵⛺️ expired on the original?

[@CassassinCatto]

"Time to rummage down the sofa again." LOL That was a good one though, looking forward to the next exciting installment!

[@Ryanlikes2PARTY]

I’ve lived in Missouri my whole life and had no idea there were so many accidents here until I came across your channel, very fascinating! Thank you!

[@11kian11]

Have you looked in to the Beirut explosion from last year? Know it’s not nuclear but from what I understand was caused by poor management and storage of ammonium nitrate! So similar to your usual videos of human error!

[@COBBL]

Usually he need to wait until the report has been finished, which will take multiple years to complete

[@11kian11]

@@COBBL Ah I see, thanks buddy! Only on my second day of his channel! Well at least we have that one to look forward to in a few years!

[@grmpEqweer]

That is going to be an entertaining disaster to analyze...

[@scout360pyroz]

something that may not show up in the reports but is researchable: Word on the web right after the explosion was that a bunch of sodium nitrate had been confiscated at the border some months or a year prior, and may have been stored there as well. It certainly would have added to the explosion.

[@jenniferbaldini3527]

Plainly Difficult, thank you for doing this!! Ask and you shall receive. I loved hearing your telling. 👏👏👏👏👏

[@pixelipines]

I didn’t know about this until recently despite being born and raised in Missouri but when I asked my parents about it they were just like “Oh yeah, that shit show”

[@yakubeez]

Hard to believe I didnt know about this channel three months ago. Amazing content and I always look forward to new uploads, probably watched every one of your videos at this point lmao.

[@DanielKay06]

I really doubt Bliss knew about it, he did spray is own property with the stuff, unless he was planning out a huge gambit that wouldn't make any sense.

[@TheSynthnut]

Thanks for the informative film. Even without the Dioxin contamination, spreading old oil from cars running on leaded petrol (gasoline) seems like a pretty dumb idea. That this happened as late as it did showed a massive lack of thought. What a mess.

[@darren451]

Here to watch this video and to show appreciation by commenting that I appreciate your videos just incase I wasn't clear about why I was commenting.

[@mekikoromanova2324]

Don't really have much to say as most have already said it, Just going to comment and say Keep up the good work! This way the mighty algorhythm stays happy and keeps one of my favorite channels funded.

[@davidcoghill8612]

I just want to give a thumbs up to your taste in classical music, Scherahazade has long been my favourite piece of music.

[@theangriestcatintheworld]

Good lad. I agree!!

[@bucktide35]

After a long frustrating night at work, nothing quite soothes the mind like an awesome Plainly Difficult video!

[@blakhorizon915]

Heeey, now im not so sad to be awake already.

[@lucidityZ]

Another fantastic video! Thanks PD!!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@bbt305]

This type of ghost town reminds me of Centralia, Pennsylvania. The coal mine fires 🔥

[@JoshuaTootell]

I think he did that video.

[@bbt305]

@@JoshuaTootell Yes. Yes he did. Thats why I brought it up ⬆️ it was awesome as always

[@codeblackfanandthegooddoct7070]

Ahh the inspiration or at least partial inspiration for The town in Silent hill

[@flaplaya]

Very thorough. Impressed by the fact still bottom waste was mentioned. Very scary stuff.

[@Welpbikeitis]

bliss is a rub and tug in my home town just as likely to get sick and die

[@Syclone0044]

Initially I read this as “is a rug 🛋and tub 🛀 “ and I was like “ 🤔 that’s an odd statement...” 😳

[@GobotWars]

At least the second video from the channel to take place in my state, how wonderful

[@Zombiekilleryamato]

Do the imperial sugar refinery explosion or some kind of dust explosion

[@ElTurbinado]

I like lesser know stuff better though. Imperial has like 90000 documentaries.

[@dcviper985]

I dunno, I think it'd be awfully difficult to outdo the Chemical Safety Board video.

[@ElTurbinado]

I mean, for example, even Plainly Difficult's general awesomeness couldn't bring me to watch his Tacoma Narrows Bridge doc. That's not a slight against PD, it's just, ya know. Same with the Hyatt Regency walkway. But some lesser known dust explosion, yes please.

[@5roundsrapid263]

@@dcviper985 The CSB does make some pretty good videos.

[@katiefeldmann3846]

Westwego grain elevator explosion.

[@thetransformatorium7980]

I had seen something somewhere about this before, but your video was much more informative. Well done! Cheers from the u.s.

[@thefez-cat]

Bliss got played for a schmuck. I've felt bad for the guy as long as I've known about the story.

[@rrknl5187]

Apparently they needed a fall guy.........

[@MrRyan-wu4jx]

He was happy to make a buck and not ask questions. Running a waste oil service is not something you should be doing without due diligence. He was negligent and deserves no sympathy.

[@missouribushwhacker9449]

@@MrRyan-wu4jx agreed I lived on land that he hid barrels on .. he knew what he was doing

[@chadhartsees]

Ahh! I've heard this story before - maybe on another KZbin channel - but I'm so glad that you covered this in your own style.

[@awolslaboratory1388]

Poor bastard was just driving his truck. Doing what he knew at the time.

[@abrahamlincoln9758]

Yeah, hard to be mad at him. He was taken advantage of.

[@Hey_MikeZeroEcho22P]

Wondered if he got ill????

[@MakeItWithCalvin]

@@Hey_MikeZeroEcho22P Bliss tasted the oil on camera at a press conference and claimed no adverse effects for it.

[@colapinklink8120]

@@MakeItWithCalvin 😵 who in the world tastes oil... even then people must have known that (used) oil is dangerous.... especially infused with industrial garbage.

[@javasparkles7330]

@@colapinklink8120 Stuck his finger in and put it right in his mouth. He was nuts.

[@AcornElectron]

Yes, ghost towns are pretty interesting. Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.

[@antman7673]

Spraying dioxin just sounds like a good idea: You get dioxin, you get dioxin, we all get dioxin.- But governments always take down the fun house.

[@dx1450]

What's a little toxic waste among friends?

[@dx1450]

What's a little toxic waste among friends?

[@hermanngoring397]

loooooooooooooooooooool

[@workablob]

Regarding 2:42. FYI, gasoline was not in short supply during WW2 though it would make sense to not squander a potentially strategic commodity. The reason the rationing stamps were issued was to conserve rubber for the war effort since the US' rubber sources in Southeast Asia were effectively cut off due to swift Japanese occupation. Drive Less = Less Frequent Tire Purchases = More Rubber for the War Effort. Synthetic rubber had already been developed but due to its infeasibility of competing against natural rubber there were inadequate resources from which to produce it. And gasoline was relatively inexpensive, so a method of discouraging driving was needed. Tires were also rationed. This is a fantastic channel you have here John.

[@xanamata5386]

i am wondering if the movie "an enemy of the people " from 1978 , has some specific real story that it is based upon .

[@Rayman1971]

There was an 1882 play that the movie was based off....same premise

[@AcuraLvR82]

Thank you for the video I find it the most thorough of anything out there on this incident. You could do an entire season on just the St. Louis and greater metro area alone, as well as other places in Missouri.

[@og_werwest]

whats the difference between patented and legacy scale? :D

[@lucidityZ]

I was wondering the same!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

I’m not sure either

[@FunnyLilNightmare]

Patented is how bad it was at the time and Legacy is the long term effect it had on the industries/people going forward. For example, a building collapse could result in changes in building regulations that are still in effect today. At least, that's what I thought.

[@baksatibi]

@@FunnyLilNightmare This actually makes sense. I thought the legacy scale is just the previous version of the patented PD disaster scale.

[@dustinwashburn1283]

I just had a vid recommended on Times Beach a few days ago, and now you've got one yourself? Apparently I'm supposed to know about this kerfuffle.

[@stelladoore9137]

Bliss Oil sounds like it would be a lot more fun than it turned out to be 😉😩

[@Paxonex]

Right on dude, thanks for the upload!

[@taff_blur]

Well, damn, I got a very lucky nickname.

[@deanruthlessrecords]

I grew up not far from Times Beach. As a child, I’d be so intrigued by this closed town and scary stories! I’d love to see Hollywood make a movie about this crazy convoluted story!

[@augustvalek]

I facepalmed so hard at this, words fail me to express my feelings

[@kixeusvent]

Fun fact. My grandpa was one of the people who were testing people for dioxin poisoning before information was officially released to the public. St. Louis born and raised baby, 63128!

[@stephaniewhite5644]

Those poor horses that died because of that mess!

[@DrBrown88]

Great video like always! I love the two guys who always have to do the cleaning.

[@redsable6119]

Here almighty algorithm.....here boy.....that's a good boy....who's a good boy....

[@Syclone0044]

I just got blessed by the algorithm 2wks ago for the first time in the 13 years since 2007 when I joined! 🥳 My video on Alaskan railroad 🛤 crews using 5LB dynamite 🧨 explosive 105mm rounds shot out of a giant Howitzer artillery cannon towards the top of snow covered mountains 🏔 to trigger avalanches (so they can preemptively be cleared while the rails are empty of traffic) suddenly started getting a ton of traffic 📈 and I thought all these new subscribers must be spammers.. until I saw the numbers.👀 Video went from like 30k to 100k in 2 weeks and now it gained 50k more views in just the past 2d! At 152k now 😃🥳🎉🎈🎉🎈

[@aikidoboynj]

I've seen this story so many times but every time a new youtube video comes out I watch and go wow could you imagine they were doing this! 😵

[@Buffaloguy1991]

What a great birthday present

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Happy birthday!

[@BrokenGlytch]

Thanks for covering this one. There are a surprising number of superfund sites like this in the area around St Louis. Chemetco (IL side of the river), Westlake Landfill, Weldon Spring Army Ordnance Works, and St Louis Airport Storage Site are all pretty interesting and terrifying.

[@themightyparthos]

"Unknowing" contractor... Plausible deniability is a horribly wonderful thing.

[@ucitymetalhead]

It's awesome to hear about and learn about local history.

[@Chainsaw-ASMR]

Is spraying dirt roads with chemicals uncommon? Some paper mills actually sell spent liquor for dust control on roads/job sites, although no nasty chemicals are in it. It's frightening that a shady company could poison a whole town though.

[@grmpEqweer]

Not the first town to be poisoned.

[@Merennulli]

Gotta love when my area gets a mention on disaster videos. I live under 5 miles from one of the contaminated sites. Honestly did not know that until just now, I was always told he just did it in Times Beach.

[@Hansengineering]

How was spraying oil on the ground ok?!

[@randombuilds8336]

It used to be normal. I mean I've seen things saying you can use the oil from an oil change to keep weeds down along a fence line.

[@seanworkman431]

How's life as an ignorant dick? Go ask how to make a paved road, the black that holds all the little rocks in place is oil.

[@MeriaDuck]

@@seanworkman431 that's not seeping into the soil at a rate anywhere close to actual oil

[@LeilaleilaZ]

How happy it makes me to hear your narration 😸