Conservation Chemical Co. is a 6-acre former chemical storage and disposal site in Kansas City, Missouri, located in the Missouri River 100-year floodplain with no public road access. The site operated from the 1960s to the 1980s, handling an estimated 48 million gallons of liquids and sludges and burying 93,000 cubic yards of materials. It was added to the EPA's National Priorities List in October 1989 and remains listed today.
Soil and groundwater at the site contain a wide range of contaminants. These include volatile organic compounds such as benzene, trichloroethene, vinyl chloride, and carbon tetrachloride, along with heavy metals including arsenic, chromium, and nickel. Dioxins, specifically 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), polychlorinated biphenyls, phenols, and cyanide are also present. Contamination reaches shallow and deep soils, on-site and adjacent groundwater, and surface water in the Big Blue and Missouri Rivers. Health risks come from direct contact with contaminated soil, eating food grown in that soil, or consuming game that fed on contaminated plants.
The EPA selected a cleanup remedy in September 1987. Construction was completed in 1991 and included demolishing buildings, installing a soil cap and security fence, and setting up a groundwater extraction system with monitoring wells. That extraction system has now operated for 25 years, with a replacement well installed in 2007. Routine groundwater monitoring occurs multiple times per year. Physical construction is complete, human exposure is currently under control, and required land-use deed restrictions are in place. The site achieved sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status in November 2008.
The most recent Five-Year Review, completed in September 2022, found the remedy protective of human health and the environment in the short term. However, it noted periodic hydraulic variations in some areas and significantly slowed mass removal rates. The EPA continues evaluating options to support full remedy completion. The next Five-Year Review is scheduled for between September and November 2027. No public meetings or comment periods are currently planned, partly because the site's remote location and lack of public roads make traditional public participation infeasible.
Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator. Site documents are available for public review at the Kansas City Public Library, North-East Branch, at 6000 Wilson Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri.
