WASHINGTON – The US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the arsenic mine site in the Town of Kent to be added to the Superfund National Priorities List.
The former mine that is part of the arsenic mine site was operated from the mid-1800s through about 1918 to extract arsenic ore for manufacturing products including pesticides, pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Decades later, portions of the site were subdivided for residential housing, and arsenic contaminated soils are found on the 10 residential properties surrounding the historic mine entrance area.
Residents with private drinking water supply wells impacted by arsenic contamination at the site are using treatment systems or bottled water. EPA has met one-on-one with residents and government partners and repaired a drinking water system where the potable water well had been compromised.
EPA continues to monitor residential water supplies to ensure that treatment systems continue to be effective.
In the short-term, EPA is installing barriers to contaminated soil to high-use areas, implementing measures to reduce arsenic migration inside residences and removing or replacing contaminated soil at the affected properties used for gardening, pets and livestock.
