KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Six acres of contaminated land in Kalamazoo might soon be checked off the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the proposal Friday—saying cleanup at what’s called Operable Unit 2 is complete.
It’s part of a larger effort to decontaminate areas in Allegan and Kalamazoo Counties where polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were found in the 70s. The chemical is a carcinogenic used in the creation of some types of paper.
The extent of the contamination landed the areas on the NPL in 1990. The EPA and the Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has been working to clean it up since.
So far nearly 470,000 cubic yards of contaminated material have been removed, 12 miles of the Kalamazoo River and its banks have been cleaned and restored, and 82 acres-worth of contaminated material has been capped.
The EPA’s comment period runs Friday, February 16 through Monday, March 18.
Public comments can be submitted online or via email to cibulskis.karen@epa.gov.
