Dow Chemical to clean up dioxin contamination of a Saginaw neighborhood

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 announced an agreement with Dow Chemical Co. that requires the company to clean up dioxin contamination in the Riverside Boulevard neighborhood of Saginaw, Michigan. Construction work in this neighborhood on the Lower Tittabawassee River began in late July and is expected to continue through the fall.

EPA data shows unacceptably high levels of dioxin contamination in yards, the unpaved Riverside Boulevard roadway and in the interior of some homes.

Last April, EPA took soil samples at the residential properties following discussions and consultation with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Michigan Department of Community Health.

The new agreement includes the excavation of residential yards, then backfilling with clean soil, interior cleaning of the homes involved, and remediation of all unpaved surfaces on Riverside Boulevard.

Dow’s Midland facility is a 1,900-acre chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxins and furans are byproducts from manufacturing chlorine-based products.