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EPA To Consider Adding Toxic Big Bend Site To Superfund List

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Federal environmental regulators want to add an abandoned toxic waste site in Florida's Big Bend to the nation's list of most polluted places, a designation that could help fund cleanup efforts.

The Tallahassee Democrat reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has scheduled a meeting for 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Gadsden County Library where residents can ask questions.

The site off State Road 12 between Havana and Quincy was once the Post & Lumber Preserving Co., which chemically treated lumber.

State and federal scientists found the company left behind contaminated soil with hazardous levels of arsenic and PCPs, which have polluted nearby waterways.

EPA could declare it a Superfund toxic waste site, which would help fund cleanup of the property.