Kentucky County Completes Cleanup of Arsenic Contamination in Soil

The Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection says the state has finished cleaning up large amounts of arsenic in Ohio County.

The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports that the agency spent the summer removing arsenic-contaminated soil and replacing it with dirt and loose stones.

The cleanup began after the toxic substance escaped from two metal tanks on a roadway a few months ago.

KDEP spokesman John A. Mura says the state spent $850,000 from its hazardous waste management fund for its portion of the cleanup.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also been working on arsenic cleanup in the area. That incident stemmed from barrels of arsenic stored inside a barn that burned decades ago. The EPA will continue its cleanup efforts.