MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — Dow Chemical Co. has submitted a plan for removing soils contaminated with dioxin from residential areas in Midland, Mich., the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality said Monday.
Dow and the DEQ announced an agreement on the outlines of a cleanup strategy last month. The company has now provided details of how it proposes to do the work, regulators said.
If the agency approves, the plan will let Dow sample soil at up to 1,400 residential properties in Midland, home of its corporate headquarters. The city was polluted by airborne dioxin emissions from a chemical plant for much of the last century.
Properties with dioxin levels higher than 250 parts per trillion would be eligible for soil replacement and other cleanup work. Sampling would begin in June and would be done only with the property owner's consent, as would cleanup.
Dow's plan includes a proposal for carrying out the soil sampling and descriptions of the cleanup activities and the process that would trigger them. It also has a schedule for the work, which is expected to last through 2017.
The DEQ said it will accept comments through April 25 and will host a public hearing April 17 at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library Auditorium.