Slag removal slated for Illinois Superfund site

HARTFORD — Governmental efforts to clean up the southwestern Illinois site of a former copper smelter are moving ahead with the expected removal of the property’s toxic slag.

The (Alton) Telegraph reports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency next Tuesday will hold a public meeting at the community center in Hartford, northeast of St. Louis.

The meeting will be to discuss the plan to clear the slag from the 230-acre Chemetco site near the village in Madison County.

The site was a secondary copper smelter from 1969 to 2001 before operators filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection while the company was in the midst of a court-imposed cleanup of the tainted property.

The slag removal is to be done by contractor Paradigm Minerals and Environmental Services.