TIRES TO BE TOPIC AT MOUNDS, ILL., MEETINGS

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Some officials of the Archer Daniels Midland Co., (ADM) were not aware of a tire problem that involved its property in this small Southern Illinois community.

More than seven-million pounds of old tires are on the ADM-GrowMark property at Mounds, which is about seven miles north of Cairo and 27 miles east of Cape Girardeau.

"We burn old tires," said Richard E. Burket of the ADM firm of Decatur. "We have five co-generation plants and burn old tires as fuel, but we were unaware, until Monday, that tires had been stored on our property there."

Burket said the property had been leased a couple of years ago and the tires had been place there during the time the property was leased.

"We understand that a tire recycling center had been planned for the area, but it didn't work out," said Burket. "The tires must have been left there at that time."

Burket indicated that his company would discuss the tire situation and work with Mounds officials on the problem.

Tires will be the topics of no less than three meetings here within a week.

"We'll discuss the tires during two meetings this week a board meeting Wednesday and a legislative committee meeting Thursday," said David Patton of the Pulaski-Alexander County Farm Bureau in Mounds. "We've offered to help the Mounds Council in efforts to dispose of the tires."

"Council members will discuss the tires at the meeting Monday July 15," said Mounds Mayor Marguerite Ward. "We've talked with other people who may be interested in establishing a shredder operation here.

"We'd really like to see a recycling center here," she said. "It would provide employment for several people."

Patton told the Southeast Missourian Monday that the Farm Bureau's concerns about the tires were twofold: mosquitoes and a fire hazard.

"I've talked with the Illinois Health Department at Marion," said Patton. "They say that the more aggressive Tiger mosquitoes have been found near Mounds."

The city is spraying the tire area twice a month now in accordance with EPA regulations.

"We're also concerned about a fire hazard," said Patton. "We've been told by the Illinois fire marshal's office that once a tire fire starts it can't be put out."

Larry Harrison of the state fire marshal's office at Marion agreed that a tire fire was "almost impossible to put out."

"The only way to put out a tire fire is by smothering it," said Harrison. "It would take tons of sand to put out a fire involving that many tires."

By the same token, however, Harrison said that tire fires are difficult to start.

"But once they start you have a problem," he said. "We had a tire fire last year in the East St. Louis metro area, and it burned two weeks."