Residents sue over arsenic found near Montgomery Co. homes

MOUNT STERLING, Ky. (AP) – Some residents are suing a wood treatment company that once operated a site in rural Montgomery County where the state recently detected higher-than-normal arsenic levels.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports (http://bit.ly/2cGJgy3) Mary and John Sparks and Cole Caddell filed the civil lawsuit against Southern Wood Treatment Co., among others, on Monday.

The lawsuit says the defendants used “chromated copper arsenic and/or ammonical copper arsenic” as a wood preservative in treating lumber, and didn’t properly dispose of equipment, materials and chemicals left over when the site closed in the 1980s or ’90s, contaminating the area.

The state Division of Waste Management tested the soil of surrounding properties last month and found arsenic concentrations requiring immediate cleanup.

Southern Wood Treatment referred questions to attorney John Rompf Jr., who couldn’t be reached for comment.

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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.