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Smurfit-Stone Clean Up Update Tonight

Smurfit-Stone Container mill outside Frenchtown, Montana.
Djembayz (CC-BY-SA-3)
Smurfit-Stone Container mill outside Frenchtown, Montana.

The public will get an update on the polluted Smurfit-Stone paper mill site near Frenchtown Tuesday, February 13th at 7:00pm.

Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Robert Moler says state and federal environmental officials will "be available to provide an update about the ongoing remedial investigation and be available to address concerns and questions about the site. We’ll have the project managers and the toxicologists who will talk about the ecological and human health risk assessments that are part of the remedial investigation."

The 3,200-acre Smurfit-Stone site was proposed for listing under the EPA's Superfund program in 2013 over concerns about soil and groundwater contamination.

Risk assessments completed last year on the property’s agricultural sections found the contamination is unlikely to pose human or environmental health concerns.

Similar testing is underway on the site’s remaining core industrial footprint. Moler says those results are expected later this year.

Tuesday’s meeting starts at 7:00pm at Frenchtown Junior High School.

Edward O’Brien first landed at Montana Public Radio three decades ago as a news intern while attending the UM School of Journalism. He covers a wide range of stories from around the state.
edward.obrien@umt.edu.  
(406) 243-4065
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