FORT SMITH — Officials in Fort Smith say Whirlpool Corp. wants to revise its contamination cleanup plan for its closed plant there.
Officials say the company wants to remove toxic soils near the plant building as well as use vaporization to remove a chemical compound used as an industrial solvent.
The Southwest Times Record reported that Whirlpool was given the nod last December for a cleanup plan after working with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. The plan addresses the presence of trichloroethylene in groundwater and soil.
Whirlpool has treated contaminated groundwater with a chemical oxidant and says the injections lowered groundwater contamination levels as much as 80 percent.
Proposed plan changes include radiation and thermal treatments to elevate groundwater temperatures and vaporize contamination around a building where the compound may have originated.