The Missouri Ghost Town Poisoned By Toxic Waste

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The Route 66 State Park in Missouri was once home to a promising town called Times Beach, but a massive contamination wiped it off the map. Here's the story.
Footage and Visuals From:
Times Beach, Missouri documentary by Bruce Lixey
Post-Dispatch
Google Maps
St. Louis Museums
Times Beach Documentary by Katrina Parks

[@austinmcconnell]

Hi. I just wrote a book, and it's on sale now. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXrMoaKrnbZ_gZo

[@josiasb2168]

Nice Book

[@redranger8603]

@@korokii9905 the comment is 4 days old this video is 2 years old not many people watch this still

[@flowskiy]

nice

[@_glint]

goes to show this video is underappreciated

[@notive]

i like your videos lol

[@batt3ryac1d]

Considering he sprayed his own horse arena with it I think that Bliss guy had no idea. Poor bastard.

[@marcussmithereens-smithert5409]

Ikr, I recon he didn't know either

[@FantasticBlueGirl]

This. Seriously. I get why people blamed him-they were scared, angry, seriously ill in some cases, so they lashed out at the nearest manifestation of their problem: the guy who unknowingly brought it to them in the first place. But in the end, I think you’re right on the money, and I’m glad Bliss was never formally charged. I’m sure the guilt he felt was punishment enough.

[@emmaquigley6370]

I guess he was bliss-fully unaware 👉🏻👉🏻 Yeah I’ll see myself out...

[@pay1370]

Absolutely, why would a company like nepacco expect a mere transport guy to know how to deal with dangerous chemicals? Not to mention the other shady shit they did

[@FantasticBlueGirl]

Emma Quigley still not as bad as the banner in the video with the words: “Ignorance is Bliss”

[@TopHatPenguin]

If the guy knew that it was toxic I really don’t think he would willingly spray his own horse arena

[@Axodus]

@Joseph Henderson Back then you wouldn't have even known it was dangerous, you'd have to talk to an expert in person.

[@jockeyfield1954]

@@Axodus it's crazy how accessible knowledge is to people these days

[@Axodus]

@Mr. Bonnie Bon See this guy understands, the world is radically different from what it was 20 or even 10 years ago.

[@wilmagregg3131]

@@Axodus yeah honestly the only bad guy her was the shady company the only bad thing the goverment did was not tell times beach about the dioxin the first time they found it even if they thought it wasnt dangerous due to decay

[@SniffHeinkel]

I don't blame that Bliss guy. He was just a pawn. I blame those chemical companies. I have no doubt that they knew what they were doing.

[@sylveka]

That flood causing the entire town to be evacuated was almost like nature itself telling them it was time to get out of there.

[@Aaron-zu3xn]

or the government letting the town flood to destroy evidence..they control the water levels with dams

[@morry32]

how many others were poisoned down stream as a result?

[@YeetZmeN]

@@Aaron-zu3xn that doesn’t make any sense

[@deadlikedisco4726]

@@YeetZmeN Strap on your tin foil hat, my dude

[@anonymoususer638]

@@Aaron-zu3xn or maybe aliens dumped a bunch of water on the town

[@aelisuaatma7663]

My father was a victim in this, and has cancer clumps form spontaneously on his body. He was just a toddler when he was paid to leave, and commonly played outside as children that age did, so he's severely at risk for the town's mistakes.

[@C0mm0nS3ns3]

Its not the town its the companies negligence.

[@swampdonkey1567]

@@C0mm0nS3ns3 no it was bliss he was a waste disposal person who if you knew in real life was a scum bag who I don't doubt did knowing it could be dangerous just cause he was lazy,

[@9slug9]

@@swampdonkey1567 Considering the man put it on his own property I highly doubt he did this on purpose.

[@janbadinski7126]

I'm sorry about your dad. It's in your best interest to monitor yourself and siblings for reproduction cancers. Your offspring is prone to spina bifida and Parkinson's disease. Michael J. Fox is an example of the consequences of agent orange.

[@liamzakhaev]

@@keralee Yeah, I don't think dry fasting is gonna fix widespread DNA damage that likely includes stem cells.

[@robinbennett1686]

If Bliss knew, he would not have sprayed it on his own property.

[@Rose-qj6eq]

@J CC yes because if someone hands you an unmarked bottle with a random liquid in it and tells you to pour it out, you drink it no questions asked.

[@apackofhoboes]

But he claimed to not understand what dioxin was, so even if he knew he was taking dioxin he probably wouldn't know it was toxic.

[@tigerlilly5579]

@@Rose-qj6eq The point we are making is that he wasn’t told. He was lied to by a dishonest greedy lazy chemical company and a hazardous waste disposal contractor. Of course, the contractor never told him to take it to the non-existant waste site. That’s a totally obvious lie. He was told nothing, except that it was waste oil. How can you believe these companies would be honest and follow the rules when they had been polluting the ground and the streams surrounding their own properties for years? Are they suddenly going to be honest and responsible with Bliss, when if they had, he would likely have refused the work?

[@asmrtpop2676]

He knew it was “waste” though and sprayed it. Like wtf he’s gross.

[@nateroberts877]

@@tigerlilly5579 exactly. They did whatever they could do get him to buy it. They weren’t going to tell him what to do or not to do with the chemicals as long as he took the chemicals off their hands

[@antxp1017]

I gotta say, my faith in humanity has been slightly restored, seeing everyone say that Bliss was just an innocent scapegoat. Screw corporations and sloppy government.

[@allanshpeley4284]

I have some bad news to share with you - humans make up corporations and government.

[@plasmicats2000]

@@allanshpeley4284 You call those cretins human?

[@valeriandamoclesmarcellus8756]

@@plasmicats2000Agreed i call those greedy fuckers "target practice" gotta love communism im joking BTW nobody get butt hurt and call the KZbin police on me

[@xinzlo6101]

@@allanshpeley4284 That's true, but some corporations are evil, and try and cut costs by doing stupid shit like this.

[@IkeOkerekeNews]

@@plasmicats2000 Cringe comment.

[@marilynleistner2284]

The employees of Hoffman Taff were tested in 1967, and it was learned they suffered from chloracne and other illnesses. The employees were then required to wear protective clothing. Shower before going home and constantly was their hands. Hoffman knew the waste was hazardous.

[@derekwillbanks5645]

To be fair...yes everyone knew it was toxic but the govt regulations told them it was only toxic for a year not 11 years. They also didn't realize that dioxin didn't break down as slow as it does. Lots of commonly used things are toxic for extremely short periods... Hell oxygen is extremely corrosive and very very dangerous in pure forms..

[@marywattle6871]

So everybody south of st. Louis which is farm land has been contaminated that explains why 90 percent of my family is dying of cancer

[@Megacooltommydee]

The train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio reminded me so much about this tragedy.

[@qjtvaddict]

Sadly many will die

[@deezelfairy]

Not even comparable.

[@TheAlmightyJello]

"Hey do you think we should tell him that the stuff might be toxic?" "Nah he'll be fine, we told him to dump it on some dump site." "You mean the site that doesn't exist?" "Eh whatever he'll figure it out."

[@finn596]

"So hey here's some "oil" "Thank you! I'll use this to help places with unpaved roads" "*Nervous sweating*"

[@rainbowroxgirl6091]

“So what are ya doing with the oil?” “I’m using it to reduce dust on roads and horse arenas!” “K cool”

[@juliantotriwijaya9208]

*Fallout: Times Beach* "We're fucked didn't we? We're about to get sued didn't we?"

[@moonxshakti]

6:11 what he was told 6:30 - 6:50 6:50 - 7:05 him telling what he used it for, and they knew it was toxic And the part about a waste site that didn't exist

[@cathyrenick8562]

I had cousins who lived at time's beach in a trailer park. When they were flooded out and evacuated that's how they found out about toxic waste. I had heard barrel's started floating up to the surface do to the floods. They never received any large sum of money. Had to be tested frequently, and have a child, baby at the time. Agent Orange "dixion" was used in Vietnam sprayed to kill the growth of brush and woods. Contaminated our veterans.

[@loftt_01]

When you really think about it, it would have been cheaper just to pave the streets.

[@sarahs3305]

@GaunletofDestruction Wet gravel causes the dust to become a disgusting soupy mud. It sprays everything with it. That wouldn't work either

[@drownsinkoolaid4203]

@@sarahs3305 If you give a light showering to it then no, it won't get soupy, but then again with how all of this story was handled I'd be against having someone "responsibly" wet the roads, probably decide that depleted uranium would also make good street decorations while they're at it :P

[@fionamccormick3678]

I can't think of my own way to explain this, so here's Terry Pratchett's. "He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness." Anyways, it's expensive to be poor.

[@marydahm6851]

He was just seal coating with oil/water, which was very common in MO in those days. And we grew up following DDT sprayers too. Lots of s*** that we (average people) didn’t know was bad. The chemical companies knew.

[@liwashere8653]

or to incinerate the chemicals

[@brandycopeland3200]

I know this story all too well. I was conceived,carried and born here in 1981. My dad and mom are a couple of the last people left that endured this secret tragedy. I'm 40 now and have had health problems my entire life. I've endured everything from brain tumors, cancer, hormone deficiencies, and MANY other medical issues. God help anyone else that's endured the lifelong affects from the Dioxin that the US government let slide. The ( very) small settlement that my family received ( mere thousands), surely paled in comparison to the lost quality of life I've endured. - Purdom family

[@harmonyquinn2557]

Have you thought about trying to go back and sue today?

[@ryanp1406]

My wife and I grew up in Ellisville. Literally played around the creeks and woods surrounding the site which was later identified as a Dioxin dumping site (a few miles from Times Beach). It would be interesting to talk to other people In our situation and discuss health problems. A ton of kids we grew up with, around that area, have health problems or are already dead. Infuriating.

[@mikekeeler6362]

I live there in the seventies and never experienced any problem

[@sarahni]

"Ignorance is bliss" is honestly SUCH a good headline, poor guy though

[@samuelmoore8154]

Journalists and journalism used to be a real thing.

[@csanders9987]

But who was he supposed to learn any of this from? There was no public internet and it’s not like the US was releasing the info in what their wartime chemicals were made of

[@eded3827]

Scientists knew about this, in fact it was published but in a scientific journal

[@eded3827]

@@csanders9987 The use of herbicides in the Vietnam War was controversial from the beginning, particularly for crop destruction. The scientific community began to protest the use of herbicides in Vietnam as early as 1964, when the Federation of American Scientists objected to the use of defoliants.[27

[@csanders9987]

@@eded3827 but do u rlly think a regular, small town guy was reading scientific journals?

[@LikaLaruku]

Imagine being tricked into spraying an entire town with Agent Orange because the company producing it was too cheap to dispose of it properly. It wasn't even in their own favor. They chose to save a few bucks at the moment only to be put out of business a few years latter. If they'd just bought the incinerator it would have been more profitable in the long run because they'd probably still be in business. They should teach things like this in business schools to dissuade people from taking short cuts.

[@GiordanDiodato]

and the government was likely unaware (or they were and were paid off)

[@pnyhmsmx]

Modern business only cares about stocks so all that matters is the moment. We're on the path to economic collapse

[@panzerknackerauto8227]

Dioxn*

[@wilmagregg3131]

@@GiordanDiodato the goverment wouldnt except a bribe in this case dioxin contaiments envoirments kills crops harms profits causes alot of sickness and expensive to remove aka it does nothing but cause vast drains of goverment money

[@rubi.s.c]

Im taking some business classes they talk a lot about business ethics and morals. My teachers say that the older generations weren't taught that. Millenials is where morals and right from wrong where more heavily taught. Altho i still don't think thats enough. Laws should be way more strict

[@ShihammeDarc]

"You could tell me it was some kind of a new jelly, and I'd put it on toast and eat it."" I like this man

[@hyperactivehyperbole]

Thinking to myself while watching, “omg, omg, you’ve got to be kidding me” and then once I actually listened I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t be and wasn’t surprised. On another note, I also think Bliss had no idea what he actually had and was spraying. Horses are so expensive in so many ways, all through their entire life cycle. And you can’t help also becoming extremely attached to them with not just the money put into them but your time spent with them. I fully believe he wouldn’t have sprayed his arena area if he had the slightest inkling of what he had. Nor would he have endangered his and all the residents of the roads and property’s water. Just another fine example of a corporation throwing the minimal amount of money at something to have it disappear with the appearance that their hands are clean.

[@Cybermat47]

“US military... pesticide...” I don’t like where this is going...

[@owenchristie6958]

Toxic Storages tank in tinny town, even worse...

[@bobobsen]

To think this is what they intentionally did to entire regions of Vietnam...

[@ninjanick0815]

Agent Orange here we come

[@KingofgraceSARA]

NOTLD

[@KingofgraceSARA]

​@@bobobsen And to the marine corps. who got the blowback. I'm not sure if army got it, too. I only know because my grandfather who is retired marine has agent orange Parkinson's.

[@jojothebard6687]

You know, I kinda feel bad for Bliss. He was poisoning a few farms and an entire town, a puppet of two chemical companies-and he probably didn’t realize it.

[@SvrWxArchive1807]

He sprayed his own horse farm. So I would bet he never knew.

[@maximilianjack1764]

Poor guy, scapegoated by the town and companies for their own fuck ups.

[@KennethSee]

@@SvrWxArchive1807 Exactly. He had no idea.

[@abeoma814]

His was the only company involved that had a human face; something that people can hate.

[@claireb5499]

I live in Eureka, Missouri, which neighbors what used to be Times Beach. I actually learned how to drive in Route 66 state park. I never would have known an entire community had once lived there if my dad hadn't told me. There's literally nothing left.

[@stephmaddox833]

My dad retired as a chemist at Syntex, and told me about this place and the poisoning. I never thought I would see a video on KZbin about it!

[@Lazy_ness]

This kinda sounds like a fallout lore story except irl

[@videotoblin]

I KNOW, RIGHT? Fallout: Times Beach

[@Lazy_ness]

This reply is edited now cause it doesn’t make any sense now

[@death.thricedrawn9939]

It reminds me of Lost River from Wolfquest

[@monkey4222]

ikr

[@spazzey0]

Fallout universe is full of government experiments lmao.

[@MrSlosh]

Obligatory comment to boost video engagement statistics.

[@weirdotzero7065]

I second this notion!

[@RedFangXIX]

+

[@harvesthans]

Obligatory

[@autumn7809]

+

[@TheOfficialZhya]

Yes!

[@lozencolorado3326]

They once chlorinated our well with lemon scented bleach. I burned my face, (thank God I did because I was going to bathe my newborn next.) I called the EPA and they sprung into action that day. Never seen a government agency act so swiftly and with such fury. I got my rent, deposit, and first and last months rent later that week and we were legally able to leave our lease and move into town It was enough money to put down on a house, while we lived in my dad's old house until it sold. I was really, really grateful to that agent. My life improved greatly after that.

[@touch_of_cobalt]

When each minute of the documentary gives you an increasingly sinking feeling in your stomach.

[@thesmirkingwolf]

If you actually time it, each minute or so is a chapter regarding different topic. Almost on the clock.

[@FlackNCoke]

Can't believe someone commented on this video with "Stop making videos about useless information"; this was not only a fascinating story from history, but an important reminder for why environmental regulations and institutions like the EPA need to exist and need to be fully funded.

[@jaxon_hill]

Its a meme you dilt

[@carleyrenk9203]

@@jaxon_hill sounds like a stupid meme, it isn't edgy enough to be funny and just makes people think you have a IQ below 80

[@michaeladams762]

Y’all take trolls way to seriously

[@Not-TheOne]

Dont worry, that person is probably already watching his 189th "reaction video" and long forgot this video.

[@ashleycantrell9844]

It's especially fascinating when it's about a town in your home state that most Missourians may not even know about. I certainly didnt

[@molybdenumrose]

because a corporation wouldn't incinerate its waste, the government had to incinerate a town.

[@hourglassez3440]

Yeah it's really sad that because of the greed of some people, other people have to suffer for doing nothing wrong. Maybe if someone in this situation had taken a step back and looked at this with common sense this whole horrific mess could have been almost entirely avoided.

[@molybdenumrose]

@@hourglassez3440 I honestly think it's just an implicit part of how a large company operates. No one is satisfied with *some* of the money, or even *most* of the money. They want *all* of the money. Massive, unspendable, monstrous hoards, and why shouldn't they? Capitalism rewards that, it's the entire point of a company!

[@108gryphon]

If you or I litter we get fined. If a corporation destroys an entire town, you and I also get fined for that. And the corp execs walk away with millions. @@molybdenumrose

[@molybdenumrose]

​@@108gryphon corporations will never put in effort if they can get consumers to do it for them. The word "jaywalker" was invented by ford to put the responsibility of people getting hit by cars on the pedestrians instead of the company.

[@sansocie]

well said. spent many summers fishin and swimin in this place. fish did taste funny.

[@grantpeterson2987]

Every person from East Palestine Ohio needs to see this. Don't let them tell you that everything is okay after their own people do the testing

[@skyblueeyes9968]

I’ve always lived in Missouri and I remember this “ghost town “. My aunt and her family lived in St. Louis and when we would go visit I would throw a fit to drive through it. I remember there were tons of trailers and crummy houses that were still furnished and still had swing sets and toys in the yards. I don’t really remember going down a gravel road though but I was just a kid. It seems like we would drive on the main highway and we could see the town all on one side. ( btw I was born in 1973)

[@angiebee2225]

It's right next to I-44, so you probably remember correctly.

[@NormalizeNotBeingaVictim]

This whole state has been a dumping ground for toxic waste for the government. There’s a lot of sick people here. It’s really disgusting

[@2wordname]

it's really sad because I live here and at times Missouri is such a beautiful state but there are a significant amount of places where you can find memorials about things such as toxic waste and even nuclear waste being dumped here

[@cal2cool]

Missouri check

[@molecularmoe]

Live not far from where Times Beach is, heard this story growing up. Oooof.

[@3nthamornin]

yep

[@joshdanial8945]

Live in ballwin which is by elisville once went by the city. It's sad.

[@coreyschmidt1647]

I can say with a high level of certainty that Russell Bliss was in fact scapegoat. My grandfather was a troop C highway patrolman, and a resident of Ballwin a neighboring city of Ellisville and knew Russel. He was told he was hauling waste oil, and that's what he did, most of his customers were repair shops that needed their waste oil tanks emptied, he had no clue the stuff he picked up at nepacco was toxic.

[@robertwest7141]

Dude...they said HE SAW HIS HORSES GETTING F ed UP ALMOST IMMEDIATELY...The PEOPLE TOO and he continued spraying it around for years!!! Wake Up Please...btw did you see his phone number...kinda a familiar number set that tells the truth as well!!!

[@jordaneggerman4734]

@@robertwest7141 I noticed his phone number too.... Irony so deep, Alanis Morrisette would go thermonuclear... That being said, while I somewhat agree, based mainly on the fact that we know we can't drink motor oil (so why spray it on roads, let alone our own property), but I honestly believe he was a regular joe, just like all of us. Anything can be coincidental, and correlation doesn't indicate causation.

[@wallpello_1534]

@@jordaneggerman4734 you might want to do some research on what asphalt is made from

[@jordaneggerman4734]

@@wallpello_1534 it's made, though. You don't just spray used motor oil on a dirt road and call it "asphalt". Seriously, though... asphalt is mostly tar, yes, but it also cools and hardens. Motor oil just washes away with the first rain.

[@cynthiaennis3107]

Robert West I noticed it right away! I also noticed he looks very well for spraying such toxic waste...how can that be??

[@esbam2002]

I remember as a kid driving through Times Beach when it was actually 'livable' going to see family in Eureka outside St Louis. Growing up off Watson Rd/Route 66 I also remember the Coral Courts as a kid.

[@jen4um]

No excuse for the EPA not testing for Dioxin in Ohio. It’s sickening.

[@JohnSmith-ef2rn]

If Bliss was intentionally poisoning the ground, he wouldn't have used it on his own property and on land in close proximity to where he lived. No one would do that. The fact that the IPC claimed they paid him to take it to a non-existent atomic-waste dump suggests that they are the ones at fault. From an outsider's perspective, decades after the incident, it's hard for me to fault Bliss. Yes, he sprayed the waste oil - but he very likely did not know what was in it. Maybe he should have looked into it himself, but it was the responsibility of the IPC to warn him that it was dangerous. I understand why many of the victims blame Bliss. It's easier. He's a single person they can actively hate and attribute blame. His face is known. It's easier to hate a man you can put a face on, than hate a massive corporation comprised of hundreds to thousands, any one of whom might have contributed to this mess. In reality, blame lies at the feet of a dozen or so employees of IPC, to varying degrees and it might not truly be any ONE person's fault. But that's not a satisfying target. It's not easy to shake your fist at the sky and scream "DAMN YOU FORTY OR SO EXECUTIVES AND LOW LEVEL EMPLOYEES OF IPC IN VARYING CAPACITIES AND IMPROPER STATE REGULATIONS REGARDING CHEMICAL WASTE DISPOSAL AND POOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE EPA AND THE PUBLIC!" It's far more satisfying to raise your fist and the sky and scream "DAMN YOU BLISS!!!"

[@Jason0binladen]

Ignorance is bliss

[@mattemery4081]

??????? If you were told to take toxic waste away from a chemical plant, you wouldnt assume that its okay to put on your greenery or near animals. "it never entered my mind what they were doing or what they were making" Even if thats the case, he knew that it was a chemical plant and he knew it was chemical waste. It is 100% his fault for not just disposing of it like he was told to do.

[@cameronsmith3047]

@@mattemery4081 but here's the thing, (assuming bliss is telling the truth) he wasn't told it was toxic waste, he was told it was waste oil. Basically (assuming he's being honest) He just thought it was oil that had been diluted to much to be useful to the company.

[@cameronsmith3047]

@@mattemery4081 also at the time the knowledge of how dangerous such waste was, wasn't common knowledge

[@mattemery4081]

@@cameronsmith3047 That's a fair point

[@kaelibw34]

I had to pause multiple times during this to just let it sink in. I saw the title and knew it was gonna be bad but the second I heard him say Dioxin, my heart stopped. Also, no. I don’t believe for a second that the man knew what he was spraying. Like other commenters have said, he sprayed his own property. No one who knew what was in those containers would ever do that knowingly.

[@karenstix2859]

He did know. He sprayed his own barn with "clean" oil. His horses didn't die. Many more horses at other barns did die, and many people were horribly sickened.

[@kaelibw34]

@@karenstix2859How could he have known it was contaminated and still thought it was clean enough to spray his own property? that doesn't make any sense.

[@cynthiaennis3107]

kaelibw34 you need to reread her comment...she said he sprayed his place with something else... i.e., making it look like he was spraying the same thing on his place.

[@CorinnaAtHome]

Karen Stix Whoa, where can I read more on that?!

[@voluntaryismistheanswer]

People cram dioxin contaminated tampons in their hoo hahs and wrap their toddlers' bums in dioxin diapers every day, how does your heart take the strain?

[@mackiebenson9467]

I just asked my parents if they remembered hearing about Times Beach because we live in IL, right outside St. Louis and both of them immediately said yes. Come to find out that close family friends of ours since the mid 1980's CAME FROM TIMES BEACH. I never knew this in my entire life. Cancer has run through their family as well.

[@DirtFlyer]

I worked a summer in Times Beach as a surveyor rodman during the cleanup work at Times Beach back in 1994. There were still signs of where the homes had once stood at that time, but for the most part nature had taken over and grown over all the lots. The only inhabitants left then were an abundance of deer and turkey. We would only go into areas where the contaminated soil had already been removed, or in areas away from the roads. But looking back at it now I would never have set foot on the place.

[@whitetigergurl12]

I think Bliss is dumb but innocent. Yea, you probably shouldn't be spraying chemical waste oil around, period. But I really think he thought it was safe - I doubt he would have sprayed it around his own stables first if he thought it was at all dangerous.

[@comedyqwerty8772]

people didn't know what we do now, and they didn't even tell him what it was, just excess liquid that they didn't want

[@alapotato9367]

Elaine i think the ipc told bliss that it was oil or something

[@blah7983]

Honestly he was probably told it was dioxin. But there is no way he had any clue what that is and I doubt he was told.

[@ofthecaribbean]

He wasn't dumb. He just didn't know

[@theoddity8375]

Yeah, I think Bliss is innocent in this situation. However, I think NEPPACO and the IPC carry most of the blame. The IPC carries most of it for lying and being purposefully negligent with materials, and passing them off to a local contractor, and NEPPACO is also guilty for burying barrels and hiring a suspicious budget contractor.

[@micahbeard4641]

What have we learned, kids? 1. Don't contaminate your entire town due to criminal gross negligence 2. Governments lie sometimes. 3. If it's safe, put it on toast and eat it.

[@CharlieFoxtrot]

"sometimes"

[@MandrakeFernflower]

What you wrote reminded so mutch of something Sam O'nella would say

[@Beurglessse]

What have we actually learnt, kids? 1. Don't let company that deals with dangerous chemicals without supervision from the gov't. 2. Government didn't lie in this case. The EPA and CDC simply didn't know, at the time, the half-life of dioxin.

[@DeviantDespot]

The guy had no idea he was contaminating his own town. He was just doing something he had done for years without issue. The lesson is get your materials tested before you use them if they come from dubious sources. Hell get them tested if you get them from anywhere.

[@heavenlygaze-]

*I know lots of things are safe, like clothes, but I wouldn’t put it on toast 👌🤟🏻🤚🏻👌👉🏾👆💪🏼🤚🏻👉🏾👅🙏🏿👆🤟🏻🙌🏼✊🏽👈🏼👊🏼🤝🤛🏻✊🏽🤛🏻🤝👏🏾🤘🏽

[@claireb5499]

I learned to drive in route 66 state park. My dad pointed out where the old buildings used to be. It's nothing more than a giant overgrown field now, but it's pretty haunting to think that a whole community lived there once.

[@sharonmeans5860]

I was born at Times Beach my grandparents and my parents lived there. My grandpa was Earl ( Pappy ) Phillips and my grandma Anna My dad and mom Ervin and Dorothy Phillips . My brother Roger, sister Sandra , myself Sharon . I miss not having a hometown to go back to and visit . All of us from Times Beach miss each other . Today I’m 71 and I still miss my home . I still cry for our loss . To be born there and know everyone . Lived there 1950 my birth year

[@malaizze]

TLDW: *The U.S. Military played the most dangerous game of telephone in history and poisoned a whole town*

[@videotoblin]

WHOOPS

[@aggffdgubfff]

Agreed! Incredibly irresponsible! They basically said "here this is your problem," then later came back and said "what the fuck you caused this problem"

[@Sandux930]

Its almost as if agent orange was a bad idea after all

[@kelliturner7212]

@@Sandux930 my husband was born with cancer they traced back to the Vietnam war where his dad was sprayed with Agent Orange

[@zedaddy3530]

@@kelliturner7212 my condolences... How's he doing now?

[@tristan6509]

So in the end it's much cheaper to just build paved roads and put a disposal plant than cleaning the aftermath...

[@SilviaNight99]

Ironic isn't it?

[@rayko2929]

Hello pepe, you bere the pepe logo therefore you are my master

[@bradleyswissman]

The cheapest fix is never cheap.

[@jaredwhitaker3175]

Don't spray oil! Terrible idea without dioxin.

[@thelonestonr7243]

@@jaredwhitaker3175 its actually a crime in canada. so please kid change your motor oil like civilized human being.

[@CM-gj6ut]

As a Missourian myself from Salem,Rolla area this hurts my heart I didn’t know about this before we have some of the best woodlands in the country!!! and this place is just getting ruined people dump garbage and chemicals like it going out of business I can promise stuff like this is still going on just doesn’t get any clout

[@goopy79]

I live around the same area and there was a documentary and people in the class were defending these corporations. It ridiculous how people can be directly negatively impacted and still defend this shit.

[@CPguildVid]

Thank you for this video. My mother grew up in Times Beach and I grew up near by. I remember the incinerator off in the horizon for most of my early childhood. I only learned a little about the history of my mother's home town and the dioxin from my high school history class, and I suspect that was because it was local history. My mother filed me in on what she knew as well, but this video had so many details I never knew about. It was very well put together and informative. Thanks again for sharing!

[@antonnym214]

That sign "Ignorance is Bliss" says it all. I don't think Bliss was criminally negligent. HOWEVER, after spraying it on those horse farms and the horses died, that should have been a CLUE the stuff was toxic. IPC knew it was toxic. They should have briefed him better.

[@tomatomelvin]

@Amy Sternheim Haha at the beginning of this i thought you were going in an ayn rand "let companies do whatever they want" direction but i'm glad you get the picture. fuck the ceos and corporations

[@montemaguire4596]

And being his phone # laat three digets. where 666

[@cynthiaennis3107]

I’m wondering how he looks so healthy spraying all that poison! What do you think? Bliss sure looks well in the interview! Interesting! Wondering if this was someone’s trial run to see how effective gassing a city would be!?

[@zancrus9629]

@@cynthiaennis3107 My guess would be because it was his company spraying I doubt it was all done by him personally. It also could have just been a question of how much time he was exposed to it as driving and spraying it behind your truck would probably not be as bad and living right next to all the roads that were just sprayed.

[@honquewastaken2298]

Well not briefing him was the purpose so they could sell it easily

[@abreathingcoffin8089]

I hope Bliss is doing alright. He grew up in a society promoting entrepreneurship, innovation, and a 'go getem' attitude. Only to be played like a pawn and target of public outrage.

[@lunagoodhart5489]

I wonder what happened to the poor guy.

[@fort809]

It sucks rhat it takes personal experience to realize that’s a lie. Those in power will always kick down, as hard as they can, and they kick hard enough to not let anyone else up

[@stevejohnson4562]

Look up Ellisville Superfund. This is another ecological disaster caused by Bliss. He was not innocent.

[@Richard-do1hb]

@@stevejohnson4562 the waste at the Ellisville site was disposed of legally according to the laws and regulations of the era (1960s).

[@jbetnar]

@@stevejohnson4562 he didn't know any better. Ignorance is Bliss. The guy sprayed his own barn with it. I can't believe he made it another 50 years after all that exposure.

[@rabbit9905]

I have watched this probably 10 times now. Absolutely insane situation and an incredibly well produced documentary about ot

[@lirrtrainwreck]

I was born in the 70s, as an adult now, I still find it hard to believe that in the 70s and 80s people didn’t think that even spraying any type of oil into foliage and the ground, which would eventually make it to ground water, wouldn’t have adverse effects. How could you not think that wouldn’t make it to the ground water I just don’t understand how people thought back then this wasn’t even that long ago

[@futhorck771]

How the living hell did anyone survive the 1970s

[@landofthelivingskies3318]

I'm Canadian and suffered with what they called "childhood epilepsy" from 1974 to 1979. I look back and I'm damn positive I'd be brain dead if my dad hadn't of moved us to the west coast of British Columbia from our home province of Saskatchewan which was predominantly a farming community, that used all kinds of chemicals back in those days. And I'm damn positive it leaked into our drinking water. Cause not once did I ever have a seizure in British Columbia but once back in Saskatchewan my seizures acted up all over again. Of course we didn't see it back then, but now it's all so clear. Just like Saskatchewan had a huge percentage of alzheimers patients. too. Also I swear marijuana cured me of this epilepsy but that's a whole other story.

[@landofthelivingskies3318]

@@Bedfordmdb .....drugs? I'm sorry but up here in Canada we don't consider marijuana a drug. It's the cure all plant.

[@cognitivedissonance8406]

If only we hadn't

[@trunkmonkey81]

Listening to Led Zeppelin?

[@ericbartol]

We were tougher back then. Also, some of us were raised by progressives (hippies). They were aware of what to look for and how to protect us from it.

[@BlueCoreGamming]

I'd love to put some toxic jelly on my toast and *eat* it.

[@Free-4554]

This the new tide pods?

[@amw6394]

Lol

[@someonecool7316]

Yummo

[@qualivia]

If it works quickly i would as well...

[@jeanniehicks5240]

qualivia That’s dark and funny as hell

[@hungryhedgehog4201]

Love how dumping waste oil on dirt is somehow seen as the good thing to do. There is no way that alone wouldn't fuck up the environment and people there. Also the fucking irony that when the town was turned into a hazard zone they finally put down paved roads.

[@phillipellison4758]

I lived in SPFLD , MO when this was happening . I was 12-13 at the time . Never understood why waste oil would be sprayed around a ranch . I remember seeing the sick horses ... To keep the dust down ???

[@chaosdweller]

Aww that name is adorable!... haha.

[@StLProgressive]

I remember when this happened. This town was only an exit or 2 up from Six Flags on highway 44, so we drove by it all the time in the summer. There’s a gorgeous park there now. You’d never know that people lost everything there a few decades ago.

[@annb8810]

Imagine you’re in the kitchen and someone hands you a mostly-empty bottle of olive oil and asks you to throw it in the trash can, and instead they hand you polonium-210

[@technoturnovers7072]

fucking PERFECT analogy for what happened to russell bliss, seriously

[@StarGazerTom1991]

Me watching this: "Poor economy in the area, right?" This video: "Agent Orange" Me: " *OOOOOOOOOH NO* "

[@averygoodfantasticname4206]

Dioxin, not agent orange

[@lindatisue733]

Monsanto based in St. Louis, made agent orange. Nah... we don't need any government regulation.

[@user-fp1go9fl7n]

Thanks for showing this video. That's such a heartbreaking tale. People lived here once and now it's become a toxic wasteland. I really hope one day that it becomes better. I hope one day that all these pollution disappears and we'll be able to harmonize with nature.

[@4n4Queen]

Austin, you need to make more video like this. Its really good.

[@tomatoanus]

this whole situation is so egregious. there were several steps along the way where if one person had taken a step back and questioned what they were doing, the whole thing couldve been avoided. in school, we were taught about events such as the t2 explosion and the piper alpha disaster to show what can go wrong when engineering standards arent followed and precautionary steps arent taken along the way. this should be added to the list, seeing as so many people/animals who werent even involved in the chemical production were harmed.

[@jorgeptolemy5999]

The problem with "just one person" is having that one person. People are just lazy man.

[@unpaintedcanvas]

Especially with chemical and petroleum engineer undergrads.

[@TALKINGtac0]

@@jorgeptolemy5999 Lazy and greedy

[@William-Morey-Baker]

lol and this is still happening all over the planet... seriously.... just different chemicals in different countries.

[@ImperiaGin]

The world is pretty fucked up.

[@imperialsnowtrooper7579]

The amount of people in the comments that have a direct connection with these events is honestly shocking

[@conspicuouspiggy8792]

Always possible that it got shared around among that crowd

[@watermelonspice513]

Ppl in Missouri are bored they watch and lot of KZbin

[@themandalorian4104]

Execute route 66

[@imperialsnowtrooper7579]

@@themandalorian4104(Puts on Commander cody helmet) Yes my lord. It will be done. *grabs car keys and starts packing for a road trip along Route 66*

[@Midwesti484]

I'm a firefighter pretty close to this area and it was always the talk of the town when I was a young kid.

[@flamthrowr_]

Wow, I’ve lived in Missouri my whole life and knew nothing about this. It’s fascinating and horrible at the same time.

[@MJ-98]

I keep coming back to this video-it's one of Austin's best.

[@jackofallspades98]

You've raised the bar yet again with this one, Austin. Extraordinarily high production value, interesting story and visuals, but what really stood out to me is the writing and the narration. Every word of this story was engaging, and I think that was largely due to the way the story was structured, and the way your script built tension. And to think you did all that without those cheesy CSI-esque sound effects at every turn. I must say, your voice was made for narration. I fully appreciate all the work that goes into these, and I almost feel guilty for enjoying it for free, but I'd love to see more, perhaps an entire series about in-depth stories about Missouri?

[@danielsjohnson]

Yep. It took 168 hours of editing to make it according to his newest video which is now deleted.

[@Jesszicar]

I think Bliss is just an unfortunate case of dealing with something he didn't understand, like he put the chemical on his own property and farm I doubt he had criminal intentions at all. I actually feel bad for him.

[@grinningtiki220]

His true crime is ignorance and being to trusting. However, looking at the time in which those people were raised and lived. A time after WWII and halfway through the cold war. People were far more trusting of the Government and by extension those it did business with to ask the questions needed. Its unfortunate but I can't be to angry with someone who does not know what they don't know.

[@Numie.]

As they say, ignorance is bliss

[@PeanutButterZombie00]

It definitely seems like he was ignorant of what he was doing at the time, but that's just it; he didn't _know_ what those chemicals would do, so he shouldn't have taken the risk. I guess that makes his only real fault a lack of caution, which is not something you want from a person who handles any kind of chemicals for a living. I do think that the real criminals here were the chemical companies for not disposing of their own wastes properly, though. It was just bad all around.

[@user-ne2bb5nh7t]

This is exactly why the EPA, gov, etc need to lay out very specific regulations that most people scoff at and assume are just to make money or waste time. Every bit of chemical now is required to be labeled along with any sort of health information. Now, as long as the company follows the rules, the people transporting it won't make incorrect assumptions and create a disaster. The skull and crossbones is a very effective symbol to prevent ignorant people from doing stupid things.

[@iLikeMyOwnPosts]

@@Numie. the real comments are always hidden in the comments.

[@rainonyourback4821]

This video was a real pleasure. Not because of the subject matter but because of how clear, well-researched and well-presented the video is. Thanks.

[@blurazz1808]

I was not expecting this video to be so heartbreaking. Large corporations scare me.

[@aaronlechner9290]

I remember as a kid living in St Louis and joking about mutant creatures coming out of times beach.

[@darolaho]

and then dying of cancer from nuclear radiation in north county

[@Jennifer.N.Presley]

stl zoo got a 2 head snake from there

[@darolaho]

@@Jennifer.N.Presley Two headed snakes (as well as turtles) are actually relatively common and the most common form of two headed animals

[@jloxk8087]

Dioxin causes birth defects so yeah probably.

[@alexscholl150]

Darolaho o gosh I lived in Hazelwood for 12 years Lol 😂

[@fennecfoxfanatic]

In fifty years, a youtuber will cover the flint water crisis in the same way as this video

[@thetorguy849]

Oh yeah. I almost forgot about the flint water crisis. Poor guys

[@lienayousif1293]

That’s exactly what I was thinking. Maybe not KZbin, but the same sentiment will be there

[@darkraysofsunshine3113]

I bet it'll still be going on in 50 years

[@slu77y]

they stil haven't been relocated yet, doubt

[@keithhutson3849]

I was thinking that the whole time I watched this

[@MrsZoeMurray]

My grandparents owned a ranch in Oklahoma and people in town used to tell us that there was Agent Orange stored in a barrel by a shed. We ended up testing the soil and sure enough it popped up in the results! Pretty cool

[@averywinders1363]

Grew up in Eureka,MO and used to play here after school. The old people in my neighborhood would tell me about playing there and symptoms they developed. Super cool story and amazing clean up.

[@brostrod]

Radiator springs? More like Radiation springs Get it? Because Route 66, the Cars movie? I’ll go

[@929er13]

as i was watching i was wondering if this had anything to do with the cars story. lol.

[@actuallywill]

Best comment on this video

[@DiscoTimelordASD]

Human/car hybrid mutations perfected over a prolonged existance in a radioactive town spanning countless generations. Sounds legit lol

[@cntrol101]

Get out of Radiation Stinks now

[@debbiedoestinyliving85]

Bye..lol

[@j03man44]

If decades of inaction is a "success" I'd hate to see what a failure looks like.

[@B.V.Luminous]

2020 has entered the chat...

[@dogethe1st346]

hey I know let’s put this leftover chemical in the water supply and give it to 1,000,000 people!

[@sagecolvard9644]

Failure looks like the town of Picher, Oklahoma. A town so contaminated to this day breathing the air can give you lead poisoning. It's right next to Tar Creek, a "Superfund Site", one of a few places in America so polluted that cleanup operations are allowed unlimited access to the EPA's "Superfund" for ecological disaster response.

[@b-chroniumproductions3177]

Failure is when the government knowingly lets it continue for their own benefit. Like when they let people get radiation poisoning and die, because telling them what happened and trying to solve the problem would mean revealing information about the nuclear program. (During the cold war. The Russians are well known for pulling that shit, but the US did it too)

[@jcstevegigs]

Great quality mini documentary here!!

[@shannonluster5083]

Wow, great documentary! I'm sorry that the release of this was buried. It's compelling and has great production value. It deserves better, just like the people of Times Beach.

[@PrinceMagnum]

Russell Bliss is my godfather. Remember hearing about this as a kid. However, he didn't get off the hook. The IRS actually attacked him for a single mistake on his taxes since the couldn't get him for dioxin. He lost everything...

[@Christine-49]

I wondered what happened to him. Figured something like that. The whole situation is very sad.

[@PrinceMagnum]

@@Christine-49 he actually settled down near Springfield Missouri. But the IRS still messed with him. Sad really. He lost everything and every time he starts to get it back, government takes it away.

[@Christine-49]

@@PrinceMagnum He should have moved to Canada. Once the government has your number, you are forever screwed.

[@PrinceMagnum]

@@Christine-49 being his godson, not sure why he didn't leave the country after he got out. He had enough money to do so and build a new life. As it is, I'm now in the same boat as my Godfather now. I have certain knowledge of fuel consumption and of an alternative fuel source for cars.

[@PrinceMagnum]

@EccentricSage tell me about it...

[@vinniemassimino]

WHO'S TO BLAME: You forgot one - The Military Industrial Complex.

[@sed6657]

BigLBA1 we are our government’s lab rats unfortunately. This is not the first, nor will it be the last time we hear anything like this.

[@GiordanDiodato]

@BigLBA1 their tin foil hats must have fried their brains

[@Chubbs1116]

This was an amazing watch, thank you sir for taking time out of your life to share. I am definitely gonna look through your videos now.

[@General_Proton]

This is the most on par documentary on Times Beach I have seen on KZbin, Bravo !!!

[@rix8782]

this whole story is depressingly relatable to flint right now. despite not being a one on one comparison, sad to see how the lower income communities in america tend to get worse treatment by organizations trying to save money

[@GeneralAlex4]

Probably some stupid college kids working at the factory and cheep as shit tried to save the money for the stock holders. I ran into engineers at a place that the no money poor college attitude! They felt like they had no money, mean while the company had billions !! Trying to save every cent!!

[@kitty-pm2md]

unfortunately, it's not just america (although it is, noticeably, very often american companies). poor and ethnically or racially marginalised groups have been inflicted with the fallout of industrialisation since it began. in Europe, they dump the waste from nuclear power plants on Rromani communities. here in australia, uranium is found in the drinking water of only black towns ( and yeah, australia is VERY racially segregated -- we go to the same schools, but classes are often more separated by race than appropriate level of learning. as a black kid in the top classes i was the constant target of You're Not Like Other Negroes, You're A GOOD Negro commentary from teachers and peers ). British company Unilever has repeatedly exposed its underpaid, marginalised workers in Bangladesh and India to toxic chemicals, which they dump into the environment and quickly pack up and move when people there start catching on to what is being done to them. flint and times beach are two in a long, long series of horrific corporate greed and government corruptions.

[@h3llblaz3r12]

Flint is a whole new level of GOVERMENT incompency, while this is a corporation lying, illegally disposing chemical waste byproduct in farm land, and another corporation lying to a backwater oil waste disposer. The EPA not doing anything about the town they knew was possible contaminated for 4+ years is the only goverment incompency in thia case, everything else the government did was right such as surveying land to figure out how much to buyout the communty and also working on the cleanup operation.

[@mollymollie6048]

Grew up in the St. Louis area, was a young teen when the news on this came out. We used to drive by Times Beach on our way to Six Flags. Such a sad story, and I feel for the residents. You couldn’t pay me to ever go to that park, and I can’t believe they actually made it into a park! Corporate greed and negligence at its finest.

[@tinataylor2464]

The government spent millions burning the dirt. They got rid of the dioxin out of the land and then only turned it to a park.

[@mollymollie6048]

Tina Taylor The EPA did do that, but research the half-life of dioxin...you can look to every VietnamVeteran sprayed with Agent Orange to see the alterations of DNA, the multiple diseases that dioxin causes, etc. I won’t go to that park, but, I completely agree with you that they did try to clean it up.

[@MultiPoseur]

Same here - I remember "dioxin this, dioxin that" in the news as a kid. I left the state a while ago, and never knew they made it a park! I for one would never willingly go there. They should have turned the area into a landfill, not a damned park...

[@dawntindall20]

I grow up in Fenton Mo, I remember watching the News as teenager, then I had friend in highschool that from Times Beach,

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

@@tinataylor2464 "The government spent millions." So we can trust them this time? :(

[@xBC90x]

This is one of my favorite videos of all time and I keep coming back to it. Great story, great narration, and great editing.

[@brennanbeyer5645]

I never get tired of hearing Austin talk about this story

[@chaosdweller]

Yeah lots of interesting yt names .....haha.

[@jademoon7938]

I don't see how you could say that these companies "didn't know" that dioxin was dangerous. They kept it in isolation tanks and knew they should be incinerating it. This is like the radium girls. Everyone wanted to act like they had no idea radium was so dangerous, yet the radium girls specifically stated that the management was all male and they wore lead aprons and other protective gear when they walked along the rows where the girls worked. So like.. There's a difference between genuinely having no clue that something was dangerous and having enough suspicion to not want to have contact with a substance while allowing others to have extensive contact with it without a word of warning. These people didn't know the _extent_ of the dangers, they didn't have scientific evidence that clearly outlined everything anyone could ever know about these substances. True. But they knew it wasn't safe too. A person doesn't need to understand the details of how a substance like dioxin or radium could potentially kill them. A word of warning is sufficient. Caution, until it's fully tested, was the route all of the higher-ups at all of these corporations and agencies took for themselves. But not for the hundreds/thousands of humans and animals living in the danger zone. They can wait until the lab results are in and fully analyzed before they get a notice to be cautious. To triple check that they had in fact been exposed to toxic waste for decades. Y'know, to avoid a panic. Such a blatant double standard.

[@wells346]

speak!!

[@vacafuega]

100% this

[@kcychien]

hijacking a disaster to sell feminazism is so political, it's sensational agent orange.

[@tigerlilly5579]

The chemical companies knew. The hazardous waste chemical disposal company knew. The EPA knew that Dioxin was dangerous. But Russel Bliss was lied to. He did not know.

[@imgonnakate]

@@kcychien ...The comment had literally nothing to do with feminism. It just mentioned how what happened with the radium girls was similar. I guess mentioning the existence of women is "feminazism" now?

[@jameskirk9845]

Me and my family lived in Republic mo.and dioxin was found in barrels. Now we live in Springfield mo and sure enough they found more barrels

[@Nichalia]

In SPRINGFIELD? Omg. Ok, time to get my soil tested, yikes.

[@tugger]

for the price of testing just move to canada we have some cancer clusters here and there but nothing as wonky as this

[@twanger5819]

oh yeah, where all my repmo bros at

[@dakotafeth5826]

Sounds like you are the common denominator... Wanna tell us something?

[@jameskirk9845]

Sure there's a toxic town that's abandoned in Missouri. They mixed it with oil and spread it all over the town to stop the dust. Now no one lives there.

[@timmytacoburrito]

I've watched this already, but was immediately recommended again. Enjoyed rewatching this a year later :)

[@markdavis180]

Man, I've lived near Moscow Mills my whole life and never heard this story. Thank you for sharing

[@JP-wx6uh]

Bliss had no clue. The companies used him as a scapegoat. Corporations do this even today in order to avoid liability.

[@CatRoxy86]

Did they really not know back then that leaving industrial oil on the streets was bad?

[@asianjackass237]

@@CatRoxy86 The dump site they told him DOES NOT EXIST. Stop licking boots for a while

[@vylbird8014]

Doubled up the scapegoat: Put another contractor in the middle, so if the first scapegoat failed, the second-layer of legal armor would take the fine.

[@Aaron-zu3xn]

man's not killing himself spraying his own land if they tell him it's toxic...they never told him nothing

[@theduckking5720]

Like the McDonald's coffee lawsuit look it up

[@boxopen3459]

Hey man, I know you'll probably never see this, but I think you are one of the greatest content creators on this website. Your videos always entertain in a way nobody else can. Even though I don't make the same type of video's as you, you're one of the biggest inspirations to me and my channel. Keep on making awesome stuff!

[@austinmcconnell]

I saw it. Thanks! :)

[@Extraterrestrial-With-A-Finger]

Well said!

[@danozmatlan3467]

A very well done documentary Austin! Thank you for sharing

[@nrbeecher1]

Excellent video. Nice job researching the issue.

[@deputybrent1]

Lived in Missouri my entire life, never knew about this. VERY!!!!! Well done.

[@taylorisaac891]

Right!?!!! My mind is blown🤯

[@scriba5777]

you can tell this is posted by a Boomer.

[@barbaraallen7164]

The residents should have kept their land in addition to suing for damages, demanding the govt. clean it up instead of 'selling' it to them. Actually where does the govt. get their money? The american taxpayer.

[@Ben.N]

@@barbaraallen7164 why

[@tomniebrzydowski3759]

OutDoorsBrent That’s because Republicans and corporations keep everything secret.

[@WilsonRidge]

Holy shit I live 13 miles from this park and had no idea that it had this kind of backstory.

[@marisachapman2493]

Try living in Verona not knowing about this.

[@Eiysacc]

I live 40 mins away and I hear rumors about it a lot

[@WallyTony]

Me too. I've had brain tumors and wonder if it's from playing in the dirt.

[@FasterJTG]

I live only 7 miles away in Fenton.

[@gregmenniges5963]

I grew up in Ballwin and Castelwood had same problem but smaller scale.

[@tth3609]

Very thorough research & well presented video. I remember this on the news as a kid living a couple hours south of StL & traveling near Times Beach when visiting my grandparents in StL

[@StaticTurtle]

These should be on Netflix they are so good.

[@blockededited8280]

Netflix? Why? It's free here.

[@PlutoTheGod]

Nietflix I think a series about this exact event would be a good Netflix show

[@moneyblue8466]

StaticTurtle yeah

[@apolloandwarrior_3229]

I mean, this guy is a professional filmmaker so he probably could land a job at Netflix

[@DON-qx2ik]

Veterans who were stationed in Thailand are dealing with the exact same madness and ignorance still today. Our installations were sprayed with agent orange (a dioxin laden chemical) for ten long years and yet we are refused the help needed to combat the physical effects of that exposure. The VA insists we must have worked on a perimeter area in order to qualify for the needed help. They refuse to consider that NO decontamination methods of any kind were performed on hundreds of personnel who worked in contaminated areas before rejoining every other person on base every single day and every night. Mud, dust, and other debris thick with dioxin was carried into chow halls, mail rooms, showers, barracks, clubs, and all other areas on boots, clothing, and hair of personnel who worked all day and all night in the contaminated areas. In addition, heavy equipment - tractors, etc - preforming work on perimeter areas, covered with think mud- dust- dirt- and debris, were also dispatched without cleaning or any decontamination method- to do work throughout the installations. They carried and dropping pounds of contaminated mud and other debris everywhere which was further transferred and carried into all living and working areas. Hundreds of boots, vehicles, tools, heavy equipment, animals, pieces of clothing, and countless other articles left areas thoroughly saturated with deadly herbicides every single day and entered (cross contaminating us) every inch of where we worked, showered, ate, slept, and relaxed, (cross contaminating us), without even the most basic decontamination methods. They were not even required to wash their hands, let alone shake out their hair, clean their boots, or hose down equipment or animals. Nothing at all was done to remove the deadliest dioxin the world has ever known or to keep it contained in any way to the perimeter. There was zero chance you walked - worked - ate - or slept - anywhere on an installation in Thailand without being EXPOSED to herbicides (Agent Orange, green, blue, violet, etc). One-billionth of a gram is all it took. The ground was saturated with dioxin laden chemicals and left uncovered and free to drift inward to the main installation with every wind and breeze (winds ranged from 3 mph, up to 105 miles per hour during monsoons. The dioxins were spread throughout the entire installations from the perimeter areas. No ground cover of any kind was used to contain the dioxin to the perimeter areas, and no windbreaks or other methods were used to prevent the dioxin from reaching every man and woman stationed on US manned military installations in Thailand. Further, animals (mice, and other rodents), reptiles (lizards and snakes) insects, birds, machines, automobiles, trucks, and other equipment (ALL of them contaminated) entered and left contaminated areas returning to be used by all other personnel on the installations (regardless of location on base), throughout the day and the night- every day of the war. The VA says the uncontained uncovered freely drifting and transferring dioxin could only have effected us if we were directly on the area they recognize as being sprayed and contaminated. They think the dioxin jumped off of boots- equipment- vehicles- tires- insects- animals- and all the other contaminated living things, and items, going from the contaminated areas back into the main living areas. Our only safety was the string of concertina wire a few feet from where we worked and slept, standing as the only barrier between us and the highly contaminated /uncontaminated area of dioxin. All Veterans who were stationed in Thailand during the war (and their sons and daughters (and grandchildren)) are potentially affected and could suffer terribly, while the VA plays this game of ignorance while collecting bonuses amounting in the millions of dollars every single year. Hundreds of men and women who were stationed on those bases- die every MONTH- due to the exposure they suffered while there. Exposure the VA contends was not possible, regardless of the scientific facts concerning transfer, and the TOTAL absence of any safeguards of any kind. We've begun sending Orange envelopes to all members of the Senate and Congress requesting that they support a couple of bills now up for consideration (HR. 2201/S.1381) that would finally (after 50 years of letting us suffer and die) allow the assumption of exposure to deadly chemicals to every Veteran who served in Thailand during the war. Bases in Thailand were attacked by the North Vietnamese army and their supporters during the war- men were killed, equipment destroyed- planes lost. Those attacks required the use of tactical Herbicides to clear an open area of vegetation for observation, in order to prevent further attacks and concealment of enemy forces resulting in further loss of American lives. The VA opposes the financial loss potential to their yearly budget if and when Veterans from Thailand are properly approved for in-depth diagnoses and treated for exposure to Agent Orange (and the other 8 defoliants used during the war- Agent blue, green, violet, pink, white, etc, all deadly) around US manned installations throughout the war with Vietnam in Thailand. There are several sites on Facebook dedicated to the men and women fighting for their lives, their families, and their rights, who were stationed in Thailand. "Operation Orange Envelope" on Facebook is one site actively involved in the struggle to stop the madness of the VA and help us to receive the treatment and care we need. Check it out if you have a friend or a loved one who might be among the silent sufferers being plagued by exposure to Agent Orange. It is a slow replicating process that many are unaware of until it suddenly slams them with a condition that is far advanced because no proper diagnosis was ever given. Most affected don't know they affected until their condition is advanced due to lack of proper diagnoses and notification.

[@Cracktaculus]

@Kitty'sCrown48 me too...agent orange is a helluva drug!

[@apolloandwarrior_3229]

Isn't agent orange that chemical responsible for all those horrible mutations? I remember seeing a short documentary on a chemical that was used in warfare and caused mutations in children.

[@lsswappedcessna]

People wonder why I distrust and generally dislike the federal government. Look at how they treat people that once promised their families, their sanity and even their very lives to them! The way our veterans are treated is shameful and the very act of dropping agent orange on our own men was as unforgivable as entering the Vietnam War in the first place. I hope you continue life with few to no side effects and in relatively good health, and I hope that if you do experience side effects you get the treatment you need. I have a relative who was exposed to that nasty shit somehow and died later of some form of cancer (can't remember what kind, but I do believe it was advanced when he was diagnosed.) He was also onboard our first fully functional nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, so poor understanding of how radiation shielding and simple lack of technology for adequate radiation shielding on long term dives may have contributed to that as well.

[@lsswappedcessna]

@@apolloandwarrior_3229 It can cause mutations. Generally birth defects associated with AO are neural tube defects like spina bifida, though affected children can suffer other genetics-related illnesses such as leukemia, lymphoma, Type II Diabetes, Ischemic HD and parkinson's disease. Now mind, I'm not a doctor though I do have basic understanding of the medical field, life-saving technique and human biology. I'm simply repeating information found on multiple sets of websites.

[@apolloandwarrior_3229]

@@lsswappedcessna Yea I had to look up a video I saw a year back on AO and it's terrible to think such a chemical was ever manufactured and the effects weren't noted until years after.

[@shojodraws3399]

This is one of favorite videos you ever made. History is so fascinating.

[@Tiffanado]

Had never heard of this. Thank you for the well-done research and presentation.

[@Pandidolod]

I feel so bad for this poor guy. He just thought he was helping out and had found a cheap service to provide for people. Ugh. Corporations never get the death by total fire and brimstone that they deserve.

[@jonahfalcon1970]

You might notice he never admitted any sort of guilt or apology. Everything was "IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I DIDN'T KNOW!!!" Which tells me he did know. That's a toddler's response. And every single local who knew what sort of person he was still blame him because (whisper) he was an opportunistic asshole.

[@Pandidolod]

@@jonahfalcon1970 Also valid. But the habit we have of pinning blame on individuals solely and excusing the corporations who spearhead/allow/engineer these disasters is what helps history to repeat itself.

[@jonahfalcon1970]

@@Pandidolod No. Just... no. Corporations are mindless entities. Bliss made a choice.

[@gonk9204]

@@jonahfalcon1970 Then tell me why the man sprayed his own property with the hazardous waste if he knew it was dangerous? He didnt know, he just became the singular person all these corporations could shift blame too, the poor man was just a scapegoat, a guilt ridden one at that. 'Corporations are mindless entities' no, they arent, they are huge systems ran by people with brains, dont try and excuse their actions that were blindly driven by greed as 'oh, but its just a object, not people'. Thats exactly the thought process they depend on to hide and get away with this heinous shit. No, they should be held to blame, every one of those people at the top of that corp who knew what was going on but silently let it happen for profit. The corporation should have been sued into the ground, made to pay huge termination pay for all the employees thatd lose their jobs. But no, these corps just get away with it with a slap on the wrist, a little fine that equates to barely a few days international profit, claiming their innocence to the very end then instantly trying to bury the whole ordeal until the public forget, and then we wonder why the systems fucked.

[@jonahfalcon1970]

@@gonk9204 Why would he? Other people have already answered that question: he didn't care. When you don't question corporations, you're worse. And again, "I DIDN'T KNOW!" is a toddler's excuse. It's right up there with "THEY MADE ME DO IT!" and "I WAS JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS!"

[@jordanscott8307]

Chilling. I can't believe I had to find this video via your "10 Minutes of Useless Facts" piece. This is a masterpiece of a documentary and really shows the love and dedication you have for your beautiful home state. Well done sir.

[@VegasA3]

Yeah we're real beautiful with our most famous attractions being toxic waste dumps. At least we have Sparta.

[@SpankinDaBagel]

@Deb long The Lake of The Ozarks and Branson are big ones too.

[@alexscholl150]

Matthew To be fair that’s true well at least we have the arch For now...

[@yanktackle4472]

I remember as a child driving by the interstate seeing the spray trucks. All the crap on TV, then years later seen the ramp dissapear and everyone move out. Only way to get a glimpse then, was to float down the river. They had to even leave their possessions, clothes, etc.

[@HakimALIGHT]

Outstanding work!