The Tyson Valley Powder Farm was originally a 2,620 acre facility used from 1945 through 1950, then again in 1951 through 1963 by the Department of Defense. This site was used to support the St. Louis Ordnance Plant, mainly for storage and as a testing facility for ordnance. Tyson has numerous bunkers once used for ordnance storage. Remnants of firing ranges and waste destruction areas also exist at the site.
Likely existing contaminants due to disposal, storage and destruction of ordnance related materials include heavy metals, nitroaromatics, various explosives and solvents. World War II era documents show that radioactive wastes were once transported to the facility for storage. Later documentation suggests that some radioactive wastes were to be shipped off-site. Washington University School of Medicine radiation experts conducted a survey in 1988 and found no evidence of radioactive waste or contamination at the site.
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Tyson Valley, The Lone Elk, and a Bomb
Old Burningbird Weblog
December 26, 2014
Proposed Plan for former Tyson Valley Powder Farm
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
May 2014
The Tyson Valley Area
by Conor Watkins
2006
