Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency have been holding informational meetings in eastern Idaho concerning how to deal with a Superfund site at a former phosphorous production plant.
Philadelphia-based FMC Corp. operated a phosphorous production plant from 1949 to 2001 on the Eastern Michaud Flats area west of Pocatello, on the Shoshone-Bannock Indian Reservation.
Nearly a decade after FMC mothballed the operation, however, its capped ponds continue to produce phosphine gas that smells of rotten fish and can damage respiratory, nervous and gastrointestinal systems, and the heart, liver, and kidneys.
Officials tell the Idaho State Journal (http://bit.ly/njfaln) that the goals discussed at the meetings last week include protecting groundwater and capping areas to prevent elemental phosphorus from reaching the air.
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Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com
