EPA Adds US Magnesium To Superfund Site List

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added the U.S. Magnesium site near Utah's Great Salt Lake to the federal Superfund list.

The EPA's announcement Monday makes the Tooele County site's cleanup a national priority.

EPA officials say the company's 4,525 acres are contaminated with heavy metals, acidic wastewater, polychlorinated biphenyls (by-FE'-nils) and uncontrolled waste products. The agency says contaminants have been released into the air, soil and water.

The EPA says blood tests of workers in 2002 and 2004 found elevated levels of dioxin and hexachlorobenzene. The agency proposed adding U.S. Magnesium to the Superfund list more than a year ago.

Company officials fought the designation. They say the federal agency has overstated the hazards.