JEFFERSON CITY, MO, OCT. 3, 2018 - Earlier today, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources conducted a training exercise releasing a small amount of harmless red dye into Wears Creek in Jefferson City. The non-toxic dye, called rhodamine, was used to demonstrate how far and fast contamination can spread when spilled or dumped into a flowing stream. Last week, the department provided Jefferson City officials with details of the dye’s use in the creek.
Rhodamine is harmless to people, animals and the environment. It is widely used in a variety of surface and groundwater tests, such as time-travel testing on streams, evaluating drinking water well construction and to help identify potential sources of water contamination.
For more information, contact the department’s 24-hour Environmental Emergency Response Spill Line at 573-634-2436.