State officials have found buried materials left from a former Cameron, Mo., insulation plant.

The underground steel slag and waste rock found this week at the former Rockwool Industries site was 10-feet thick, said Julieann Warren, site assessment unit chief with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR and the Environmental Protection Agency will run tests on the buried mass and other samples within the next couple of weeks before announcing the results at a Cameron town meeting.

This week’s soil and groundwater sampling at and near the former plant site, a nearby reservoir and a nearby quarry are the latest in a state investigation that probes two areas: whether a higher-than-usual number of brain tumors have been diagnosed in current and past Cameron-area residents and whether environmental issues could be linked to the tumors. State testing in Cameron ends today.

“The key is whether or not the slag or waste rock contains any heavy metals that could potentially leak out,” Ms. Warren said.

The samples will be tested for the presence of 18 metals.

So far, claims that hazardous materials were buried at and near the site and dumped at the quarry are unfounded.

State agencies decided to investigate the former plant, which closed in the early 1980s, due to community concerns.

Following a 1989 anonymous tip to the EPA that hazardous materials were both buried and dumped, the EPA investigated and found the tip unwarranted.

Local residents know of about a dozen tumor cases in recent years. The Missouri Department of Health and Human Services officials say they’ve received tumor reports on about 20 individuals, while Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City, says he has given the office more than 40 reports.

Mr. Guest, who was instrumental in getting the state agencies involved, said the CBS show “The Doctors” has talked to him about visiting Cameron in August.

He said he continues to hear from current and former Cameron area residents with brain tumors.

“I think the more pieces you have to put this puzzle together, hopefully you’ll eventually see an entire picture,” he said.

Nancy Hull can be reached at

nancyhull@npgco.com.