The B.F. Goodrich site sits in Calvert City, Kentucky, where chemical manufacturing has taken place since the mid-1950s. The site was added to the National Priorities List in 1983 and has been in active cleanup for decades. Today, Westlake Vinyls and several smaller chemical companies operate on the property, which covers about 250 acres of onshore and offshore area along the Tennessee River.
Contamination spread through the site after chemical wastes were discharged into unlined ponds until the 1980s. A 2015 investigation found roughly 3.5 million cubic yards of contaminated soil beneath the plants and the river. Contaminants include chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and 1,2-dichloroethane, as well as benzene, vinyl chloride, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform, among others. These contaminants are found in groundwater, surface water, soil, and sediment. Contaminated groundwater seeps into the Tennessee River, which is the primary risk to human health and the environment. Public exposure is limited because operating facilities control access to most of the site.
EPA issued a comprehensive cleanup plan in September 2018, estimated at $107 million. The plan calls for a three-mile subsurface barrier wall, groundwater collection and treatment, liquid contaminant recovery, sediment dredging, and closure of two ponds. EPA reached an agreement with current and former site owners in April 2019 to design the remedy, and a federal court approved a second agreement in January 2024 authorizing construction. Several components are already underway. The Outfall 004 detention basin was excavated and relined in 2022 and 2023. The East Barrier Wall began construction in August 2024. Dredging of the barge slip, a channel connected to the Tennessee River, is tentatively scheduled for summer 2026. A five-year review was completed in September 2024, and the next is scheduled for 2029.
Institutional controls restrict land use across the entire 250-acre site. Zoning prevents residential development. Environmental Covenants are planned to be signed by 2030, and an Institutional Control Implementation and Assurance Plan is expected to be submitted to EPA by March 2028. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List and has not achieved sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status.
Community members can stay involved through EPA fact sheets, public notices, and meetings. EPA plans ongoing briefings to Calvert City Council and the broader community as work progresses. The Marshall County Public Library at 23 Park Road in Calvert City holds site records that residents can access. Anyone with questions can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager, or the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection.
