Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 31, 1990                   TAG: 9003310615
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: PULASKI                                LENGTH: Short

STATE INQUIRY TO BEGIN IN PEAK CREEK POLLUTION

The presence of heavy metals in the creek has been examined by the state Water Control Board on and off over the past 10 years. The water recently has been turning rusty red after rainstorms, and Pulaski residents have been monitoring the problem as well.

"The state clean-up program is just getting in on the ground floor now," Jamie Walters, community relations supervisor for the Department of Waste Management, said Friday from her Richmond office. "We're going out next week to take a superficial view."

The heavy metals have leached into the creek from several sources, but the main source of pollution has been identified as the old Allied Chemical property, now owned by Pulaski's Downtown East Inc., according to reports from the Water Control Board. The metals include lead, iron, copper, selenium and zinc.

"We're going to try to update our information," Walters said. "The information we get will determine future action."

The agency works to identify people or companies responsible for the pollution and encourages them to clean it up, Walters said.