Jennison-Wright
Granite City, Illinois

Site Description

The Jennison-Wright Corporation site is located on a 20-acre parcel of property located at West 22nd Street in Granite City, Madison County, Illinois. The area surrounding the site consists primarily of residential and industrial properties in a low income, neighborhood. Operations began at the facility in 1910 and continued until 1989. The Jennison-Wright Corporation engaged in wood treatment of railroad ties and wood blocks, using creosote, pentachlorophenol, and zinc naphthanate. Jennite, an asphalt sealant, was also manufactured on-site. After operations ceased, wastes were left at the site in a railroad tank car, a buried railroad tank car, two above-ground storage tanks, and two lagoons. Due to these conditions, the ground water, soil and surface water surrounding the site are contaminated. The site contains 5,600 cubic yards of dioxin-contaminated soil and surface waters are contaminated with creosote, PCP, and other related compounds. Neighboring residents may be affected through direct contact or ingestion of contaminants emanating from the site. The population within one mile of the site is 31,280.

Current Site Status and Cleanup Actions to Date

• EPA is funding the cleanup remedy at the site, which is being implemented by the State. Three interim cleanup actions have been completed. The Illinois EPA (IEPA) has cleared the site, demolished and removed two silos and several buildings, completed asbestos removal, removed numerous piles of scrap metal, concrete, wood and trash and approximately 5000 feet of steel tram rail.
• With the award of $3.6 million in 2005, the IEPA removed debris, excavated 1,300 cubic yards of creosote contaminated soil, removed 38,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and removed 800 cubic yards of "hotspot" soil for off-site disposal.
• The site is currently undergoing cleanup construction. The remaining cleanup activities include removal of additional contaminated soils, installation and operation of the steam injection/Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (NAPL) recovery system and continued treatment of groundwater using Hydrogen Release Compounds (HRCs).

Current Funding Status

• In 2006, Superfund provided IEPA $1.3 million to initiate additional cleanup activities at the site. Additional funding is planned for in 2007 and 2008 for cleanup activities.

For more information on the projects at this site, please read the Jennison-Wright Corporation Fact Sheet on the Region 5 Superfund Web site.