No Evacuation of Contaminated Town Set

Residents of Mill Creek, Mont., have been asked to remain in their arsenic-contaminated community pending a cleanup in May, but a temporary evacuation may be ordered during the decontamination effort, Environmental Protection Agency officials said Friday.

Mike Bishop, project manager for the cleanup, said an immediate evacuation was not ordered because the levels of arsenic found in Mill Creek soil pose a threat only in the event of long-term exposure.

“It’s like smoking,” Bishop said. “On a daily basis, your risk may not be that high. But, over a lifetime, you certainly enhance your chances of developing cancer.”

The arsenic was deposited in the tiny rural community over several decades by dust from the Anaconda Copper Co. smelter, which closed in 1980. Recent tests showed that children in Mill Creek have elevated levels of the poison in their urine.

Inspection, Evaluation

Bishop said the EPA will decide how to clean up the community after an inspection and evaluation of the homes and yards. The plans under consideration include replacing the topsoil with fresh dirt.

“I’m kind of disgusted,” said Ed Noll, 66, a Mill Creek resident who wants the company to buy out the community so that its 90 residents can move. “I thought by now they would have a plan made up for this cleanup deal. They’ve just put us off again.”

William Anderson, 56, a Mill Creek resident with three children at home, said that, if the EPA does not evacuate residents during the cleanup, he will pack his family in his camper and go elsewhere. “If they send out a bunch of people with funny-looking space suits to clean up here, then I would be really worried,” he said.

The EPA’s Bishop said a relocation during the cleaning is “very possible,” not only because the effort might stir up contaminated dust but also because residents might be inconvenienced by the workers and heavy equipment.

Skin, Lung Cancer

Long-term, low-level exposure to arsenic, a residue of copper smelting, is believed to cause skin and lung cancer. The cleanup is expected to take up to six months and the cost could run into the millions. The Anaconda company, purchased by Atlantic Richfield Co. in 1977, would be asked to foot the bill.

The contamination was discovered at a time when Mill Creek residents still have not recovered from the economic jolt of the smelter’s closure. More than 2,000 jobs were lost in the region when the company closed its Anaconda operation.

Residents learned of the EPA’s decision not to order an immediate evacuation during an emotional meeting Thursday night.

“People are very concerned about not having jobs, about their property values being down now and about not being able to sell and move on to other communities,” Bishop said. “Some of the mothers were close to tears.”