What is the Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site?
The Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site is located in southwest Michigan and includes the lower 3 miles of Portage Creek, 80 miles of the Kalamazoo River between Morrow Lake and Lake Michigan, and four former disposal areas and associated mill properties. The total geographic scope of the area studied for the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study stretches across 90 miles of river from Battle Creek to Saugatuck. The Kalamazoo River was declared a Superfund Site because of the presence of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) in the river’s fish, sediment, and surface water. For more than half of the 20th century, PCBs were legally used by many industries in the manufacture of electrical components and other products that benefited from their fire retardant and other chemical properties. Between 1957 and 1971, PCBs were also used to make carbonless copy paper. Carbonless copy paper was often mixed in with the used office paper that came to the Kalamazoo area pa
