Aerial view of The Velsicol Superfund sites in St. Louis Michigan

The small city in mid-Michigan has one of the most polluted pieces of land in the country. The Velsicol Chemical Company (known as Michigan Chemical up until 1976) produced all kinds of toxic chemicals at its factory right on the banks of the Pine River.

It operated from the 1930s up until the late 1970s, and it was responsible for the notorious PBB incident that contaminated people throughout the state.

The Velsicol Superfund sites in St. Louis Michigan. Cleanup money was approved for the old plant site. They're still working on money for the "burn pit."

In 1982, the old Velsicol chemical plant was simply knocked over and buried with a concrete cap. All those chemicals were simply left buried in the ground.

The chemicals began leaching into the Pine River and into the city’s water supply (the city had to shut off its wells and find another water source a couple of years ago).

The company responsible for the pollution reorganized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, so now taxpayers will fund a cleanup under the EPA Superfund program.

http://michiganradio.org/post/epa-and...