Too Toxic For Disposal

In 1933, Dow created a mass of tars that was too toxic for disposal.  Even there were several disposal options available (incineration, disposal in chemical ponds being reclaimed for other uses, several landfills) over the next twenty five years. 

In the 25 years from 1933 to 1958, Dow excavated and re-buried the mass of tars three times.  In order to do this, Dow had to know where the tars had been buried with great precision... precision available through careful surveying and placing the burial location of plant maps.

What type of tars would require this degree of extraordinary care.... perhaps a material too toxic for incinerators that belched black smoke indicating that combustion was incomplete and that the emissions themselves might be toxic.

One very toxic material comes to mind -- dioxins.  Perhaps, Dow synthesized and purified a quantity of tars that were being found in the reboilers of the chlorophenol distillation equipment in order to determine if the material had any commercial value.  Alarmed by the extreme toxicity of the product, Dow would certainly want to dispose of it or place it in a location that was so well know that any excavation or underground work would not disturb the material and expose workers unknowingly to very toxic chemicals.

A bigger, more important unknown -- what happened to the mass of tars too toxic for disposal?

Please be patient as this section of the website is completed.