State recovers more than 21,000 gallons of liquid waste after 2019 floods

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is asking for the public's help after a slew of "orphaned" containers were recovered along the Missouri River following the flood of 2019.

Stephen McLane, an environmental scientist with DNR, said at the end of September that officials had recycled more than 12,000 gallons of potentially hazardous waste found in these containers. Most of the containers his team had found were in Atchison County in northwest Missouri.

In a press release DNR issues Wednesday, those numbers had jumped to more than 21,000 gallons of potentially hazardous liquid material which has been recycled, with more containers likely to be found in the next several weeks. More than 7,000 pounds of solid waste material has been recovered as well.

The Missouri Department of Conservation and DNR are urging Missourians who spend time outdoors to report out-of-place containers. These containers will be found near waterways and in floodplains.

Examples of flood-related orphaned containers include:

• Pressurized cylinders and tanks
• Large propane and anhydrous ammonia tanks
• High-capacity above-ground storage tanks (multi-thousand gallons)
• Small consumer-sized containers (5-gallon buckets)
• Steel or plastic drums and barrels
• Agricultural transport and storage containers

State officials said these containers may be storing dangerous chemicals, are a potential exploding hazard and must be handled by experts. If you see one you can call DNR's emergency 24-hour-hotline 573-635-2436.