EPA targets metals-contaminated sites

Oct 25, 2010 | 12:58 PM |

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun to clean up an abandoned zinc electroplating facility in Albion, Mich., two other Midwest sites are under investigation and a river port in Oklahoma has entered a brownfield cleanup program.

The EPA will spend about $1 million to clean up 100,000 gallons of uncontrolled hazardous waste left behind when Pickens Plating Inc. declared bankruptcy in June 2009. The contaminants include toxic acids, metals and chemicals stored in drums, containers and vats, some of which are open and leaking, EPA and Albion city officials said. The site poses an "imminent and substantial threat" to public health and the environment, the EPA said.

Once the initial cleanup is completed, the site will be referred to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment for any long-term cleanup or pollution management.....