EPA, State, and Local Officials Celebrate Successful Cleanup of Kerr-McGee Kress Creek Superfund Site in DuPage County, Illinois

CHICAGO (September 3, 2026) – Today, officials from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined state and local officials at McDowell Grove to celebrate the recent deletion of the Kerr-McGee Kress Creek Superfund site in Illinois from the National Priorities List. The deletion is possible because no further cleanup is required to protect human health and the environment at the 6.7-mile site in DuPage County.

“Cleaning up a site like this takes persistence, science, and partnership—and today’s milestone shows the payoff of that work,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Anne Vogel. “The result is a safer community, a healthier environment, and new opportunities to support families, recreation, and economic growth for years to come.”

"Today marks the end of the Kerr-McGee chapter in DuPage County. While this contamination affected so many in our area, the massive restoration work completed here will benefit our communities for generations,” said James Zay, DuPage County Board District 6 member and Stormwater Committee Chair. “This success is a testament to what we can achieve when the EPA, local leadership, and community partners work hand-in-hand."

“Today we celebrate the delisting of a Superfund site, but we also celebrate what the cleanup helped make possible: healthier waterways throughout DuPage County, improved habitat, and a lasting example of what can be achieved when cleanup is not the finish line but the starting point for restoration,” said Daniel Hebreard, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.

"Growing up on Ann Street in West Chicago, just blocks from Kerr-McGee, I experienced the impact of this site firsthand,” said Melissa Martinez, DuPage County Board District 6 member and West Chicago resident. “Decades later, serving as a DuPage County Board member, it is deeply personal to stand here representing the community that lived through this chapter and built a cleaner future together."

Contamination at the site originated from the former Rare Earths Facility, which produced gas lantern mantles and radioactive metals from 1932 until 1973. Radioactive surface runoff discharged from the facility into Kress Creek, and materials containing thorium residuals spread in the sediment, on the banks, and in some floodplain areas of the creek and the west branch of the DuPage River.

Cleanup began in 2005. Crews divided the site into several sections, working upstream to downstream. In each section, crews removed contaminated material before restoring areas with clean backfill and vegetation. The contaminated material was transported offsite for safe disposal. Cleanup was completed in 2014, with restoration continuing until 2025.

EPA listed four sites on the National Priorities List to address radioactive waste contamination from the Rare Earths Facility.  Kress Creek is the third to be deleted, with the Reed-Keppler Park site deleted in 2010, and the Sewage Treatment Plant site deleted in 2013. The Residential Areas site has been cleaned up but remains on the NPL until the former Rare Earths Facility is addressed under the oversight of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

Background:

After years of steady progress by EPA, responsible parties, and state and local partners, deleting a Superfund site from the NPL is the final cleanup milestone in the cleanup process. While EPA encourages site reuse throughout the process, deleting a site from the NPL can revitalize communities, raise property values, and promote economic growth.

In May 2026, as part of its commitment to accelerating and completing Superfund cleanup work, the Trump EPA launched the Superfund Solutions initiative. This forward-looking effort renews focus on EPA’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment while getting more sites to the finish line faster. Throughout the initiative, the agency is deploying gold-standard science, streamlining decision-making, cutting red tape, making swifter cleanup decisions, modernizing tools, and increasing cooperative federalism to deliver for communities across the country.

Returning contaminated sites to productive use more quickly supports the Trump EPA’s core pillars of clean land, air, and water for every American. EPA is laser-focused on modernizing Superfund—to turn unsafe areas into parks, homes, and businesses to help Power the Great American Comeback. 

Visit the Kerr-McGee Kress Creek/West Branch DuPage River Superfund site profile page for additional background and site documents.

Learn more about the Superfund cleanup process.