MDEQ continues to monitor site in Hattiesburg

    HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi officials have found
creosote residue in a south Hattiesburg neighborhood but say there
is no risk to local residents.
    The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has been at
site since December after community members reported seeing a
rust-colored residue leaking from a monitoring well.
    The area is the former site of a creosote plant that closed in
1962.
    Members of the Forrest County Environmental Support Team say the
residue shows there are still environmental problems at site.
    The Hattiesburg American reports that MDEQ told Mayor Johnny
DuPree that samples collected from December to mid-February found
compounds associated with creosote. However, MDEQ says there is no
danger to human health or to the environment.
    MDEQ says the site is still being periodically monitored