EPA Begins Lead Cleanup at Former Friction Materials Site in Huntington, Indiana
CHICAGO (September 21, 2026) – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began a cleanup of lead-contaminated soil from the former Friction Materials site at 1849 East Sabine St. in Huntington, Indiana. The cleanup is expected to take approximately 60 days.
During the cleanup, EPA will secure the site and excavate lead-contaminated soil before backfilling with clean soil. Crews will transport lead-contaminated soil offsite for disposal at an EPA-approved facility. EPA will conduct air monitoring throughout the cleanup to ensure dust does not leave the site.
The 11.7-acre former Friction Materials site contains the remnants of a large automotive parts manufacturing facility. Operations at the site began in the early 1900s and continued for nearly a century. The site’s ownership changed hands several times before Friction Materials acquired the property in the late 1960s. The company used the site to manufacture automotive brake parts until ceasing all operations and declaring bankruptcy in 2000. The site sat vacant for more than a decade before the City of Huntington acquired the property via tax lien in 2014.
EPA has previously conducted two cleanups at the site:
- In 2017 and 2018, EPA removed and disposed of approximately 2,000 gallons of hazardous liquid waste and approximately 3,000 pounds of hazardous solid waste from the site, including asbestos-containing material.
- In 2022 and 2023, EPA removed more than 2,350 tons of lead-contaminated soil from 11 residential properties surrounding the site and some of the most highly contaminated areas onsite.
In 2025, an assessment by the Indiana Brownfields Program discovered additional lead contamination present in deeper soil throughout the site. The state referred the site to EPA for further assessment and removal. Earlier this year, EPA sampling confirmed the program’s findings.
For more information about the response, visit the Friction Materials removal website.
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