The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public meeting at 6:30 p.m., April 27, at the Plainwell Comfort Inn and Conference Center, 622 Allegan St., Kalamazoo, Michigan, to update the community on cleanup activities planned for the summer at the Allied Paper, Portage Creek and Kalamazoo River Superfund site.
EPA’s presentation will be followed by time for questions and answers. EPA representatives will update the public on work at 12th Street Landfill, the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill, the Allied Paper Landfill, the Plainwell #2 Dam project, and cleanup of sections of the Kalamazoo River and Portage Creek.
The complete Kalamazoo River Superfund area stretches 80 miles from Saugatuck on Lake Michigan to the Morrow Dam and encompasses five disposal areas and a number of paper mill properties. Cleanup primarily focuses on removing and containing PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, a group of toxic chemicals that were widely used in carbonless copy paper and as coolants, insulators and lubricants. PCBs 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.
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Source: epa, April 26, 2011