More details have been released as the investigation of the accidental death of a Kossuth County man near a hog facility continues.
According to the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation has determined that M&M Pumping LLC of West Bend was using the open concrete tank on the property south of Algona for the storage of peptones and soybean wash water. On September 4, the contents of the tank began to foam over for an unknown reason.
At that time, 33-year-old Randy Meyer of Whittemore was attempting to agitate or stir the contents of the tank with a tractor and auger when he was overcome by the odor of gasses.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency performed air quality screening assessments around the facility on September 16 and 17, testing for a limited number of pollutants. The Iowa DNR is working with the EPA to collect additional air samples so they can more comprehensively identify and characterize the odors being emitted from the storage tank.
The DNR is working with the responsible parties, as well as state and federal officials, to address the environmental concerns during the removal and proper disposal of the waste material.
(By Brian Wilson, KLGA, Algona)