Arlington County Agrees to Pay About $8,500 in Settlement with EPA

Arlington County has agreed to pay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about $8,500 as part of a settlement agreement the county board approved this week.

About 15 years ago, Arlington sent mercury vapor lamps to be disposed of in Albany County, N.Y., said Assistant County Attorney MinhChau Corr.

The site was operated by the Mercury Refining Co., which would use special ovens to reclaim mercury from items, according to the settlement agreement.

The EPA has catalogued more than 7.2 million pounds of material that was sent to the company between the late 1950s and 1998.

However, dumping and sloppy handling contaminated the ground and water in the area, the settlement states.

The EPA has taken responsibility for the site, and expects the Superfund to cover up to $16 million in cleanup.

The agency has recovered about $4.2 million in past settlements, the agreement with Arlington County states.

The current agreement covers only about $50,000 among 10 parties. Aside from Arlington, those include a pharmaceutical company, Purina Mills LLC and the city of San Diego.