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State Officials to Join Feds in Ohio County Arsenic Cleanup

Environmental Protection Agency Seal by DonkeyHotey flickr (creative commons)

The Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection will join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the cleanup of a significant arsenic site in Ohio County. 

Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet spokesman John Mura says the state was called after arsenic was found on nearby properties. EPA investigators believe the arsenic had been stored in containers inside a barn that burned down, releasing the chemical into the ground. Ohio County Judge-Executive David Johnson says he heard from a KDEP official that the reclamation process will begin in the summer. The cost of the project is unknown. The Messenger-Inquirer reports the contamination was discovered in 2014 about six miles south of Daviess County. Since then, the EPA has been handling the investigation and planning the cleanup. The EPA says exposure to arsenic can cause cancer, and high levels can be deadly.

Becca Schimmel is a Becca Schimmel is a multimedia journalist with the Ohio Valley ReSource a collaborative of public radio stations in Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio. She's based out of the WKU Public Radio newsroom in Bowling Green.
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