Video: Residents Want Quicker Clean-Up of Kerr-McGee Site

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) — Columbus residents packed the Hunt Gymnasium Monday night, expressing their concerns over clean-up efforts of the old Kerr-McGee plant.

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice answered questions concerning the recent settlement with Kerr-McGee, and how it impacts cleaning up the site and the Multistate Trust.

The Columbus plant closed in 2003.

At the meeting, residents emphasized chemicals from the plant are making them sick, and the clean-up process is taking too long.

“We have waited long enough to get this place clean, and they’re dragging around, telling us one story after another,” said Helen Melvin, who lives near the plant. “We’re tired of lies. We want action.”

“We’ve taken some samples,” said Franklin Hill, Region 4 EPA. “We’ve started the remedial investigation, and feasibility study. That usually runs 18 to 24 months. It’ll probably takes us a couple years to get full characterization on the entire site, and then to recommend some options for a remediation plan.”

The Kerr-McGee site manufactured railroad ties and timbers that were treated with creosote.