The 2019 flood just keeps on giving.

As the floodwaters receded, debris was left behind. According to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, more than 740 orphaned containers — primarily in northwest Missouri — were collected and removed by state agency personnel and contractors.

About 21,500 gallons of liquid waste, including petroleum, agriculture chemicals and about 7,000 pounds of solid waste products were collected from orphaned containers and either recycled or safely disposed.

Examples of flood-related orphaned containers include:

The containers must be handled by experts because they can hold an array of potentially dangerous substances, including fuel and agricultural chemicals.

While there is a cost for managing the orphaned containers, any community located in a county that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had approved for flood-related public assistance is eligible to receive aid with orphaned container retrieval costs.

The public can help with this effort by identifying flood-related containers that still need to be recovered. Anyone may report a flood-related orphaned container by calling the Department of Natural Resources' 24-hour Environmental Emergency Response Hotline at 573-634-2436, or by submitting an online report by clicking here. 

Source: The Missouri Department of Agriculture, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.