Indy firm to clean up tainted Terre Haute site

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The cleanup of a contaminated former industrial site in western Indiana is expected to begin following years of study.

The Tribune-Star reports that city officials this week awarded a $2.7 million contract to HIS Constructors Inc. of Indianapolis for the removal of soil to a depth of 10 feet on much of a 20-acre site where Terre Haute Coke and Carbon operated from 1926 until 1988.

The cleanup is expected to be completed by November 2013. The site is contaminated with arsenic, lead and other hazardous substances that officials said were byproducts from the production of coke, a hardened fuel formed by baking coal at high temperatures.

Cleanup of the rest of the 52-acre property will be completed later.