Now I Know – Paved With Good Intentions: The oil spraying went on from 1972 to 1976 and for years after, went undetected. But in December of 1982, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ran a test on some dirt samples, finding that the amount of dioxin was 100 times higher than what was considered safe for humans. Soon after, the EPA did something rare — it shut down the entire town. Everyone was evacuated, and for all intents and purposes, Times Beach, Missouri, ceased to exist.