Sand-capping project targets mercury contamination in Penobscot River

How 9,400 tons of sand is being used to combat industrial pollution in a Penobscot River cove

Barges are spraying 9,400 tons of sand to cap toxic mercury sediment in the Penobscot River near Orrington.

Sand-capping project targets mercury contamination in Penobscot River

A pilot project is covering mercury-contaminated sediment in the Penobscot River with clean sand as part of a broader cleanup effort.

After decades of advocacy, Penobscot mercury cleanup finally begins - Maine Beacon

For the first time since a chemical plant on the banks of the Penobscot began dumping mercury into the river decades ago some of the toxic pollutant is finally being cleaned up from the waterway. On Wednesday, Aug. 26, engineers, local residents and environmental advocates gathered at Picnic Park in Orrington, near the site of the former HoltraChem plant, to watch two barges begin their work on the intertidal flats of the Penobscot River. One ca…