BUTTE – A football stadium in western Montana that was closed because of possible contamination from mine waste has been reopened.
The Montana Standard in Butte reported Monday that Anaconda-Deer Lodge County tested dirt from Mitchell Stadium for arsenic and lead contamination, and school officials are no longer concerned.
In October, workers found an old rail line buried less than 18 inches (48 centimeters) below the field’s surface when they were investigating the cause of a low spot. The discovery caused some concern because rail lines were built using smelting waste, and train cars carried arsenic-laden copper ore.
Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency say the field never should have been closed because it had already been deemed safe. They also say the workers didn’t get a permit to dig in the stadium.