University Of Arkansas To Open Research Center On Water Quality

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- A new research center proposed at the University of Arkansas would study the effects of phosphorous on rivers and streams.<br/><br/>Phosphorous is a nutrient found in chicken

Thursday, August 24th 2006, 8:52 am

By: News On 6

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- A new research center proposed at the University of Arkansas would study the effects of phosphorous on rivers and streams.

Phosphorous is a nutrient found in chicken litter and is at the heart of an Oklahoma lawsuit against several poultry companies in Arkansas.

The lawsuit by Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson accuses poultry companies such as Tyson Foods of polluting the Illinois River watershed in Oklahoma. It says excess nutrients in poultry litter washed from fields and led to algae, carcinogenics and other problems in eastern Oklahoma waters.

The proposed research center at Arkansas' Agricultural Research and Extension Center would use a natural stream on the property to study the effects of phosphorous on watersheds.