The clean-up of a dangerous chemical lab in Norris ended Friday, as the EPA and DEQ put the final touches on the Norris Labs site.
The Enivronmental Protection Agency and Department of Environmental Quality, along with several state and local agencies, started the clean-up on June 22, after two lab employees fell sick and tests revealed high-amounts of lead in their bloodstreams.
"The clean-up process has gone well.
"We took samples from the pond on site here and then we took samples from Hot Springs Creek above and below where that pond enters the creek and they were all non-detect for everything we looked for,” explains Craig Myers, EPA Federal On-Scene Coordinator.
People in the town of Norris also had their ground water and wells tested by the EPA.
"They did come over and test our water over at the office and sort of cleared it,” said Ann Hokanson, a Norris resident for 25 years.
A section of Highway 287 was also closed during the detonations.
"We weren’t all nervous or anything but it will be good to know it’s done,” Hokanson said.
Now that the clean-up is over and the water is deemed okay, Hokanson says any concern has been cleared up.
So yeah, no worries, we love Norris and we’re glad it’s clean now."