BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating possible hazardous chemical contamination in Bettendorf.
The federal agency will test the air, ground, and groundwater during the week of March 19-23 in an 18-acre (7-hectare) area that was used for waste disposal before disposal was subject to government regulation.
The Quad-City Times reports that the land was leased from the 1950s into the 1970s for municipal dumping by the city of Riverdale and industrial disposal. An EPA assessment found that the landowner also operated an “oil and chip” business that stored waste oil in clay pits.
EPA official Ashley Murdie says they’re determining if there’s contamination and whether people and the environment are at risk. Murdie says the agency will then decide what removal action is needed, if any.
