EPA IS STILL LOITERING ON LOCAL SUPERFUND SITE

When it comes to environmental protection, uncertainty remains the prevailing decree. Science makes itself known in slow measure and, unfor~tun~ate~ly, not all information is available on the harm some elements do to the planet and its inhabitants. Caution should be our approach to addressing environmental concerns, but common sense must be our guide. In dealing with an environmental problem locally, the Environmental Protection Agency has shown itself deficient in this latter quality.

Again, the subject of the Missouri Electric Works site has come up and, again, we are scratching our head over the EPA's casual approach to problem resolution. The MEW site along South Kingshighway was identified in 1985 as being contaminated by polychlor~inated biphenyls, commonly known as PCBs. PCBs are on an EPA list of suspected cancer-causing compounds; our emphasis on the word suspected is not misplaced. A study conducted during the 1980s by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a federal research agency, found "no statistically significant increases" in cancer deaths among workers with jobs exposing them to PCBs. Other studies support and decry this view, but suffice it to say the scientific evidence is not clear.

Three years ago, the MEW site was added to the federal Superfund list and given priority status for environmental cleanup. Bright yellow signs were posted on the property by federal authorities warning citizens about the PCB danger. Faced with the prospect of soil washing away to other property, the EPA had a solution that suggested no real scientific advancement: bales of hay. In a meeting last June, an EPA consultant imported from Texas said that the chemical compounds would probably not infiltrate groundwater supplies for "100 to 150 years."

It was in August of last year that the EPA announced that the total cleanup cost might be $10 million. Put that in perspective: it is twice the city's bond commitment to build the Show Me Center, all directed at mitigating a rather vague peril.

Recently, some scientific evidence has indicated that the application of lime might be effective in treating PCB-contaminated soil. The Missouri Electric Works owner would like the EPA to consider this method for his property, but the federal agency is balking; the lime applications haven't been proven as a remedy, the officials say. Why not get busy and prove it? A check at a local quarry indicates that agricultural lime sells for $4.76 a ton, with an average application about 2-3 tons an acre needed. On the 6.4-acre MEW site, $10 million would buy a lot of applications.

From the EPA, we ask only for some reasonable appraisal of potential hazards and more timely answers about solutions. Who is being helped by the EPA's lethargic approach? As far as we can tell, no one.

If there is a real danger at Missouri Electric Works, why isn't it being removed? If there is no danger, why is a local business being forced to endure years of aggravation and financial hardship with this leisurely investigation? This isn't an intellectually difficult proposition, only an expensive one.

Why is this agency so quick to condemn, yet so slow in clear up problems it purports? As taxpayers, we should demand the EPA get something done, whether it is dissolving the investigation or bringing it to a conclusion; some action is needed.