Air
There has been a legacy of air pollution caused by the facility emissions from the wood-treating main building and other buildings on the Koppers property for the entirety of it’s operation near the homes of nearby residents.
That soot would come in our homes through the windows because we didn’t have air conditioning and had to open the windows. The soot would be blown throughout the home by the wind.
Shelia Brown
Main office building on Koppers site property during operation. Photo courtesy of the Southern Illinoisan.
Water
For decades, the water between the Koppers site and the residential area of the northeast side of Carbondale has been plagued by creosote and other chemical contamination that killed the trees, plants, and contributed to the lack of birds and other wildlife in the community.
The water is contaminated. Over there at Glade Creek all the way into the neighborhood from the waterways that flow behind the homes of residential property onto the rest of town and to the Big Muddy.
Rodney Morris
Glade Creek near Koppers site. Photo by Clarissa Cowley.
Soil
The decades-long cleanup has been trying to remove, relocate, and dispose of contaminated soil that has low levels of creosote and other cancer-causing chemicals such as PCP and PAHs.
There is evidence that a pump is installed in the middle of the site to pump out creosote from the lower levels of the soil in an attempt to get rid of the immense amount of creosote after years of wood-treating chemicals polluting the land.
Rodney Morris
Current property condition during cleanup process. Photo by Clarissa Cowley.
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