© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bannister Complex Air Safe, More Tests to Come

Behind this wall at the soon-to-be retired Bannister Federal Complex is a defense plant that used toxic solvents.
File photo
Behind this wall at the soon-to-be retired Bannister Federal Complex is a defense plant that used toxic solvents.

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-886325.mp3

Kansas City , Mo. – The old Bannister Federal Complex passed round one of EPA testing for hazardous pollution this week, but there are more tests to follow.

The environmental agency remained silent until the results were in. Volatile solvents, some of them carcinogens, have left no traces at the old Honeywell plant that pose a health hazard from breathing the air inside the buildings.

But seasonal considerations postpone further testing for soil and groundwater pollution, according to EPA spokesman Chris Whitley. He says that work needs to wait for "a little warmer weather and a little more soft ground."

Whitley says soil and groundwater tests will be conducted in the spring, and the results will be made public.

KCUR prides ourselves on bringing local journalism to the public without a paywall — ever.

Our reporting will always be free for you to read. But it's not free to produce.

As a nonprofit, we rely on your donations to keep operating and trying new things. If you value our work, consider becoming a member.