US will purchase property of Times Beach residents

The federal government decided to buy this beleaguered village from its 2,041 residents, because tests show dioxin poison is at levels far higher than previously thought. The purchases would cost an estimated $25 million, and would be unprecedented in its scale, according to officials of Missouri and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Meanwhile, a group of US House and Senate members will urge removing the EPA from presidential control, it was disclosed. They were prompted by controversy over administration handling of toxic-waste cleanup funds.