Tests of Indiana lake coming up clear after chemical spill

PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) - Chemical tests at an Indiana lake are coming up clear following a spill of a potentially carcinogenic chemical earlier this year.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times (http://bit.ly/2txsXq0 ) reports that the Burns Waterway is tested for hexavalent chromium weekly following April's spill by a U.S. Steel facility. Nearly 300 pounds (136 kilograms) of the chemical was spilled.

The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is assisting U.S. Steel with long-term monitoring of four beaches on the waterway.

Charles Morris is an environmental protection specialist at the National Lakeshore. He says none of the samples taken so far have shown a concentration above the 0.03 milligrams per liter minimum detection level for hexavalent chromium. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water standard is 0.1 milligrams per liter.

Sampling will continue until the end of August.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com