A huge slag pile, which at some points towers 40 feet above the ground, will begin to get smaller.

On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency approved the removal and reuse of the slag, which sits on 200 acres owned by the former Sharon Steel Corp. in Hermitage.

Earlier this year, newly formed Farrell Slag Inc. won the right to purchase the land and slag at a bankruptcy auction with a bid of $1.2 million. Sharon Steel filed for bankruptcy in 1992 and has been selling off its assets to pay creditors. Sharon Steel used the site for steel production since the early 1900s.

Duferco Farrell Corp. now owns and operates the remaining steel operations near the site.

As part of Farrell Slag’s purchase agreement, the company required EPA approval of reusing the slag before completing the deal.

Jim Adzima, owner of Farrell Slag, said that with the federal agency’s OK in hand, the purchase deal should close on Friday. He declined to comment on specific plans for the slag but said it would be used in construction and road projects. Adzima also owns White Rock Silica Sand Co., Hempfield Township, and Lakeland Sand & Gravel south of Conneaut Lake in Crawford County.

He estimates between 8 million to 10 million tons of slag are housed on the land.

"There’s no way to know exactly how much is there until we begin removing it,’’ Adzima said.

By approving reuse of the slag, EPA said it would result in saving between $2 million to $5 million in cleanup costs of the site.

EPA placed the land, along with adjoining property owned by Sharon Steel, on the federal Superfund list in 1998 after finding arsenic, chromium and lead contamination in groundwater and soil. EPA is now studying how to clean up the land.

Reuse of the slag will not pose any health risks because it complies with state and federal regulations, the EPA said.

Under the sales agreement with Farrell Slag, the EPA is to have unrestricted access to the land for cleanup. Also, the company will reimburse the EPA the $40,000 used to finance work at the site and the agency’s expenses for developing the agreement.