News Releases from Region 04

EPA to Conduct Additional Soil Sampling Near the Fairfax Street Wood Treaters Site in Jacksonville, Fla.

EPA to Conduct Additional Soil Sampling Near the Fairfax Street Wood Treaters Site in Jacksonville, Fla.

Media Contact: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421 (Direct), (404) 562-8400 (Main), harris-young.dawn@epa.gov

ATLANTA (June 8, 2018) – During the week of June 11, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct soil sampling at approximately 21 residential properties near the 12-acre Fairfax Street Wood Treaters (FSWT) site and Susie E. Tolbert Elementary in Jacksonville, Fla. The sampling will help determine the depth of excavation needed for the yards requiring cleanup and whether any cleanup is warranted at the school property.

The FSWT site is located in a predominantly residential area of Jacksonville owned by Fairfax Land Management, Inc., and was formerly used as a wood treating facility. From 1980 to 2010, the facility pressure-treated utility poles, pilings, heavy timber and plywood lumber products using the wood treating preservative chromated copper arsenate (CCA). Some of the CCA preservative dripped onto the ground during the wood treating, which resulted in soil and sediment contamination.

Under Administrator Pruitt’s leadership, the Superfund program has reemerged as a top priority to advance the Agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.

More information on EPA's cleanup work at the Fairfax Street Wood Treaters (FSWT) site (https://www.epa.gov/superfund/fairfax-st-wood-treaters)

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