EPA: Household Hazardous Waste From Oregon Wildfires Cleaned Up

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency says it has completed the cleanup of household hazardous waste from properties burned in the Oregon wildfires.

The federal agency said on Wednesday that the September fires led to an initial EPA response in Jackson County, which quickly expanded to Clackamas, Douglas, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, and Marion counties.

The agency says it removed 300,000 pounds of hazardous waste from 2,285 properties. Among the items rendered safe or removed were propane tanks, ammunition, oil, gasoline, solvents, paints, pesticides, and bulk asbestos.

The EPA says removing those items helps ensure the safety of workers who are slated to begin removing ash and fire debris as part of the second step in the cleanup.