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TIMELINE: Velsicol Chemical leaves large toxic footprint in the "Middle of the Mitten"

The site of the former Velsicol Chemical Corporation in St. Louis is going to take a long time to clean up.
Mark Brush
/
Michigan Radio
The site of the former Velsicol Chemical Corporation in St. Louis is going to take a long time to clean up.

The city of St. Louis, Michigan would much rather be talked about as the geographic center of the Lower Peninsula.

Instead, there's a lot of focus on the legacy of pollution here.

The story of Velsicol Chemical in St. Louis, Michigan is quite complicated. 

And it grows more so as plans continue to develop forfinding and cleaning up the contamination left behind in this small town.

We've been working to bring you up to speed on the history of Velsicol Chemical in St. Louis, Michigan all this week. It's one of the most polluted places in Michigan. The company was sloppy, and mistakes were made when it first tried to contain its pollution on its old plant site.

Since then, the community has been working hard to push the government to give the city and the people in St. Louis a thorough cleanup. They hope that future generations won't have to deal with this toxic legacy.

See the timeline below, or go here for an expanded view.

Copyright 2021 Michigan Radio. To see more, visit Michigan Radio.

Mark is a senior reporter/producer at Michigan Radio where he's been working to develop the station's online news content since 2010.