FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) -- Whirlpool Corp. is expanding the scope of its testing for toxic chemicals at the site of its former factory in Fort Smith.
The company this week started installing equipment used to test for toxic vapors in the neighborhood north of the shuttered facility.
The Southwest Times Record reports the testing is part of the company's plan to address soil and groundwater contamination at the plant and in the nearby neighborhood. Whirlpool has submitted its plan to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
The groundwater is contaminated with trichloroethylene, a chemical linked to increased cancer risks. The compound was used at the plant as a degreasing solvent from the 1960s through the early 1980s.
