EPA to clean up explosives site

SARATOGA SPRINGS (AP) — Federal environmental officials have approved a yearlong, $2 million cleanup at an old explosives plant in Utah County owned by Merrill Cook.

An Environmental Protection Agency emergency crew has been testing bags, barrels, tanks and jars filled with explosive ingredients.

Two weeks ago, the crew began cleaning up a 2.6-acre fenced section and a 3,800-square-foot plant in the foothills in Saratoga Springs.

Paul Peronard, EPA's on-scene coordinator for the cleanup, says its cost could be as little as $300,000.

Federal officials gave the OK to the cleanup a week ago in a memo describing the risk of leaving the site as-is.

The EPA says it has changed the locks, posted warning signs and hired a security company to make sure no one enters the site.