Cleanup work at the Jackson Ceramix Superfund site, in Falls Creek, Pennsylvania, is underway, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overseeing a multistep process to address contamination at the former dishware factory site.
"Overall, what we want to do is reduce the environmental risk and promote long term health and safety of the local community. We're committed to restoring the Jackson Ceramix Superfund site back to working order and working closely with the local community to ensure that their future plans for reuse or redevelopment align with the EPA remedy," said Mike Debonis, one of the EPA’s project managers for the Jackson Ceramix site in Clearfield County. “The ultimate goal is to get this property back in that productive use for the local community."
Jackson Ceramix made china there between 1917 and 1985. Operations included discharging lead-contaminated wastewater into an unlined drainage ditch and lagoon and burying broken china. That led to soil and water contamination.
One of the project areas is in the Sandy Lick Creek floodplain. The cleanup includes removing hazardous waste with high concentrations of lead. It’s expected to take about a year and a half.
“We're just going to be digging a hole and filling it up with clean material to backfill it, and then following that dig and backfill, we're actually going to restore the property back to a wetland," Debonis said.
For two years after that, Debonis said, the EPA will check back to make sure the wetland restoration was effective and address any problems.
“A lot of work is happening at one time at Jackson, and we're really excited to do it," he said.
The project has received federal funding, including $68 million for this phase.
