Doe Run Looks into Allegations of Burying Waste

The Doe Run Co. announced plans to hire an independent firm to investigate former employees' allegations that the company buried toxic waste at its smelter near the Mississippi River.

A handful of former smelter workers allege they illegally buried toxic waste on the grounds of the smelter, the nation's largest. State officials also plan to investigate.

Doe Run has denied knowing about or giving consent to the dumping. In a statement April 16, chief executive Jeff Zelms said the company is looking nationally for an outside firm investigate.

"It is neither our policy nor practice to illegally dump materials, and any such action was taken without the knowledge or consent of Doe Run management," Zelms said.

"They never have admitted any mistakes that they made," Nash said. "We never did things on our own, you know that. We were told to do it."

Connie Patterson, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, said they will investigate.

"We're doing everything we can to tell everyone who has that kind of information to come forward," Patterson said.

Doe Run is in the midst of a government-ordered cleanup of Herculaneum, a town of about 2,800 residents 30 miles south of St. Louis.

State health officials have found that about 45 percent of children tested near the smelter have high levels of lead in their blood.

As many as 160 families living near the smelter may move away as part of a buyout plan negotiated last month between the state and Doe Run.