TROY, N.H. (AP) – More than 5,000 barrels of chemical waste have been removed from the former Troy Mills landfill, leaving only 1,500 to go.

“We’ve struggled with this site for many years,” said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of Environmental Protection Agency’s New England office. “It’s just great to see the progress here today.”

Varney and other officials visited the Troy Mills Superfund site on Friday. They say the cleanup is now almost 75 percent complete and should be finished in December.

The property was the site of an automobile fabrics manufacturer. The company buried thousands of barrels of toxic chemicals in the 10-acre landfill between 1967 and 1978. Burying the waste was legal at the time, but environmental standards changed and concern grew that the chemicals were leaking into the soil and polluting groundwater.

The site was added to the Superfund list in September 2003; work started this spring.

After the cleanup is completed this winter, crews will be back in the spring to run some additional tests.

The progress on the cleanup was a relief to many involved.

Troy Selectman Glenn T. Shattler said it has been a monumental task, and the Troy site should be a “poster child” for how state, federal and local governments can work together.

AP-ES-10-24-04 1757EDT