Bannister Federal Complex considered for Superfund list
Two decades ago, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made the initial list of contaminated sites for the Superfund list, the Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City, Missouri was overlooked. But pressure from environmental groups has prompted a reassessment of the site. The site first came to the attention of the EPA in 1987. Several areas of the property qualified as Superfund sites, but they were not considered hazardous enough to qualify for a priority spot on the national list.
Since the site opened in the 1950s, PCBs, depleted uranium, trichloroethylene, asbestos and hundreds of other chemicals have been used for the manufacture of non-nuclear parts for the construction of nuclear weapons and now potentially contaminate the air, soil and water of the area.
The Sierra Club and the Physicians for Social Responsibility group petitioned the EPA for a thorough investigation, citing hundreds of area cancer deaths, health compensation claims, toxic chemicals in the Indian Creek and the Blue River, and leaked documents expressing concerns for the health of children at the site’s day care center.
For the full story, go to The Kansas City Star.
