Toxic soil must be moved, Maine firm told

A company in Maine has been ordered to remove thousands of tonnes of contaminated soil from an old factory.

Mallinckrodt Inc has been told by state authorities to begin clearing up the toxic land where the HoltraChem facility was one in operation in Orrington.

The project - which will be one of the largest of its kind to have taken place in the state - must begin by May, according to the order.

David Littell, commissioner at Maine's department of environmental protection, said that the site is the most heavily contaminated in the state.

"We moved forward with this remedy because it is necessary to protect the public health of residents in the area and to protect the long-term ecological health of the Penobscot River in the Orrington area," he told Bangor Daily News.

Mallinckrodt declined to comment, claiming it had not seen the order yet.

Across the Atlantic, the UK's Environment Agency has revealed that the number of tonnes of waste being sent to landfill sites in the country has fell from 84 million to 65 million between 2001 and 2007.