All News Releases By Date

Public Meeting On Kalamazoo Superfund Site Set For Thursday In Kalamazoo, Mich.

Release Date: 01/10/2011
Contact Information: Jayna Legg, 312-353-0562, [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 11-OPA002

Chicago (Jan. 10, 2011) -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 will hold a public meeting at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 13, at the Kalamazoo Public Library, 315 S. Rose St., to present cleanup options for the Allied Landfill portion of the Kalamazoo Superfund site.

The EPA presentation at the start of the meeting will be followed by time for questions and answers. Since the bankruptcy in May 2010 of Lyondell Chemical Co./Millennium Holdings LLC, EPA has been responsible for designing a cleanup plan for the site.

The complete Kalamazoo River Superfund area stretches 80 miles from Saugatuck on Lake Michigan to the Morrow Dam and encompasses five disposal areas and five paper mill properties. Cleanup efforts primarily focus on the removal and containment of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls. PCBs are a group of toxic chemicals that were widely used in carbonless copy paper and as coolants, insulators and lubricants. PCBs are of concern because they concentrate in the food chain resulting in health hazards to people, fish and wildlife. Congress banned the manufacture of PCBs in 1976, and PCBs still in use are strictly regulated.

People who need special accommodations at the meeting should contact EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Don de Blasio, 800-621-8431, Ext. 64360, 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., or via e-mail [email protected].

See more information about the Kalamazoo River Superfund site at: https://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/kalproject/index.htm.

# # #