Court Bars Shipping Pesticide Into Kansas City

Police stood guard Wednesday outside an Environmental Protection Agency laboratory after the city passed an ordinance and got a court order barring the agency from shipping in more hazardous pesticide.

The EPA lawyers met to decide what to do about the restraining order and injunction issued by a county judge Tuesday night.

“Right now, nothing is being moved,” said Steve Wurtz, a spokesman for the EPA. “We hope to resolve the issue as soon as possible, but what actions we will take haven’t been determined.”

Pesticide Recalled in ’83

The dispute centers on 60,000 gallons of ethylene dibromide, or EDB, a pesticide formerly used as a grain fumigant. It was recalled from public use in 1983 after tests showed it could cause cancer in laboratory animals, Wurtz said.

About 30,000 gallons of the pesticide already had been taken to the EPA’s regional laboratory and the rest was to have been moved there Tuesday.

“This is an industrial area where chemicals like these are used every day on a routine basis,” Wurtz said. “That’s why we’re a little surprised by the action taken by Kansas City, Kan.”

The City Council passed an ordinance in an emergency meeting Monday night banning storage of the pesticide in the city or transporting it within its boundaries.

Police were ordered to turn back any truck driver who tried to deliver more of the chemical.

Hired to Deliver Chemical

Riedel Environmental Services Inc. of St. Louis had been hired to deliver the pesticide to the EPA lab by the owner, Vulcan Materials Co. of Birmingham, Ala.

Mayor Jack Reardon said that the restraining order was sought because officials feared the chemical might be brought in despite the ordinance.