The Bofors Nobel site covers 85 acres in Egelston Township near Muskegon, Michigan. It operated as a chemical production facility from around 1960 until it closed, making alcohol-based detergents, saccharin, pesticides, herbicides, and dye intermediates. Unlined sludge lagoons on the site held wastewater and sludge until about 1976. The site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) in March 1989, marking it as a federal Superfund priority.
The site contains over 70 organic and inorganic contaminants. Confirmed contaminants of concern include aniline, benzene, benzidine, azobenzene, dichloromethane (methylene chloride), 4-(4-amino-3-chlorophenyl)-2-chloroaniline, and related compounds. Contamination is present in groundwater, soil, sludges, surface water, and air. The greatest health risks come from breathing contaminated air and from ingesting or touching contaminants in soil, surface water, and groundwater.
Cleanup is divided into two operable units (OUs). OU1 covers groundwater, soils, and sludges. Active cleanup started in September 1992 and long-term response action finished in March 2000. Remedies now in place include extraction wells, a soil cover, a groundwater treatment plant, an underground barrier wall, and a treatment wetland. These systems work together to keep contaminated water from reaching Black Creek. OU2 covers the plant area. A combined remedial investigation and feasibility study was completed in February 2010, and EPA is currently working on a feasibility study for that area.
The most recent five-year review, completed in September 2023, found the remedy is protective of human health and the environment in the short term. No one is drinking contaminated groundwater, and direct exposure is currently controlled. However, EPA cannot yet confirm long-term protectiveness. The potentially responsible party still needs to investigate contaminant levels at groundwater and surface water interface wells, complete ecological risk assessments, finalize a Performance Standards Verification Plan, and develop a sampling plan for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) compounds. Those steps are expected to take about two years, after which EPA will re-evaluate the remedy. Institutional controls are in place to restrict site access, zoning, and land and groundwater use. The site has not yet reached construction completion or deletion from the NPL.
Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator, or the Remedial Project Manager for technical and cleanup questions. Michigan's Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy division is also available.
