KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A public meeting will be held tonight on a potential mercury storage facility at the Bannister federal complex.

The Bannister facility is one of seven possible sites in the U.S. to store the toxic substance and some area residents have expressed concern about their families being so close to a dangerous substance.

The public meeting will be held by the Department of Energy from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Embassy Suites on the Plaza, 220 W. 43rd St.

A new federal law says the Department of Energy has to find at least one place to store mercury by 2013.

The thought of moving the toxic substance to Kansas City isn't sitting well with the people who live in a nearby apartment complex.

Many of them have children who play nearby, and said they don't want deadly chemicals next door.

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver is coming out against the facility, which is in his 5th District.

"The Congressman would be dead set against having a storage area of toxic wastes at the Bannister complex or anywhere in Missouri's 5th district," said Danny Rotert, a spokesman for Cleaver. "We will continue to fight that."

Mercury is created through manufacturing, gold mining and recycling activities. The Department of Energy estimates that right now there are about 15,000 tons in the U.S.