The American Creosote Works (ACW) Jackson Site was a former wood preservation facility on approximately 60 acres located immediately southwest of downtown Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee. It is bounded on the south by the Seaboard Railroad, on the southwest by the South Fork of the Forked Deer River (SFFDR), on the west and north by Central Creek, and on the east by an industrial yard. Groundwater flow is generally in a northeast to southwest direction and discharges into the Forked Deer River. Residential, rural, and industrial areas presently surround the Site, and a portion of the Site is being used by a company for staging industrial equipment.
ACW began operations in the early 1930s, continued until December 1981, and went bankrupt in May 1982. The wood preserving operation used both creosote and pentachlorophenol (PCP). Between the early 1930's and 1973, the plant apparently discharged untreated process water onsite with minimal control and routinely polluted the Forked Deer River. In 1973, a levee was built around the facility to contain the wastewater and surface runoff. Between 1974 and 1975, the plant installed a wastewater treatment system and oil/water separators to control environmental pollution. Pits created during the construction of the levee were used to store treated process water and sludge, but the pits frequently overflowed during heavy rains flooding the main process area and releasing waste into the river.
On June 3, 1983, EPA used emergency response funds to treat and dispose of wastewater, and remove, treat and bury sludge under a clay cap onsite. ACW was finalized on the National Priorities List (NPL) in June 1986. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) performed a RI/FS under an Interagency Agreement with EPA from 1985 to 1988. Contaminants of concern at the Site included arsenic, dioxin, PCP, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In March 1989, the Tennessee Department of Environmental Control (TDEC) signed a Superfund State Contract (SSC) with the USEPA to conduct the remedial action at the Site.
Remedial evaluation of the Site continues: however, on April 17, 2013, the EPA Remedial Program referred the Site to the Emergency Response & Removal Branch for a Removal Site Evaluation due to concerns about creosote material leaching into a creek bordering the Site.
