With the additional contamination will come additional clean-up cost, but the final price has not yet been determined, said Lee Ann Moore of the Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge.

It’s hard to say what it’s going to cost, said Moore. Once the source of contamination is found, and how deep it is, then a cost can be determined.

Moore said in May, early signs of additional contamination were found. In June, further sampling was done, and in July it was confirmed that there was contamination in storm water catch basins in the upper part the Old Refuge Shop, a former park visitor center.

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With the discovery, three new rounds of sampling will have to be taken in order to identify the source of contamination, Moore said. The further sampling, is expected to occur within 10 days.

The clean-up process involves treating any hazardous areas through the use of a pug mill, which is like a big mixer, Moore said. The mill mixes the contaminated soil with water and a type of fly ash, a substance used to stabilize the metals and keep them from leaking out of the soils.

Moore said excavation of the other part of the Old Refuge Shop site is expected to begin by the end of this week. She said the Fish and Wildlife Service is using vacuum trucks to draw out contamination from storm water catch basins. Vacuuming began Monday evening.

The Old Refuge Shop has been separated said Moore, and the contamination is being dealt with. Before the water enters into the Refuge Shop it will be diverted so they can continue to excavate, said Moore.

. According to Rose Rowell of the Southern Coalition on Protecting the Environment, the clean-up process of the contaminated metals area will have harmful affects.

Rowell said that as soon as ground is broken in the clean-up process, dioxins will be released into the environment. Dioxin is an agent which produces harmful side affects such as irreversible disruptions of the body, birth defects and cancer.

Rowell also cited an Environmental Protection Agency study which shows the average American has enough dioxin in their body that they are in danger and any additional dioxin can cause harm.

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It’s a great big mess out there. They (the Fish and Wildlife Service) really don’t know what’s out there, Rowell said.

Moore confirmed that dioxins have been found in the clean-up, but were at levels below one part per billion. Apparently, the dioxins migrated from another contaminated site into the stream at the Old Refuge Shop, Moore said.