WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday approved a petition by Occidental Chemical Corp. to inject liquid hazardous waste from a chemical manufacturing plant into a deep underground well.
The EPA approved the petition for a site near Wichita after deciding that the method of disposal was cost-effective and safe to humans and the environment.
Occidental Chemical, a unit of Occidental Petroleum, produces chlorine, vinyls and other chemicals.
'Wells like these are under constant monitoring and periodic maintenance,' said Pat Costello, a geologist with the EPA. 'This well will provide a backup.'
The injection zones, which are nearly a mile below ground, will isolate the waste from sources of drinking water for at least 10,000 years, Costello said. The new site joins five other wells that were approved at the same facility in 1990.
The approval is effective immediately, but Occidental Chemical must still obtain the proper permits from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to begin disposing waste.
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