
LCP Chemicals Superfund Site
The LCP Chemicals Superfund Site is located between the Turtle River and New Jesup Highway, just northwest of the Brunswick city limits. The northern boundary of the site runs along Blythe Island Highway and the southern boundary meets with the property line of the active Georgia Pacific Pulp and Paper Mill.
The 813-acre site has a long history of industrial activity from the 1920s through 1994, including an oil refinery, coal-fired power plant, and both chemical and paint/varnish manufacturing plants (see the timeline below). Past activities contaminated soil, groundwater, and adjacent surface waters and marshlands until operations ceased in 1994.


These industries polluted the site with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, lead, dioxins, and cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs). Large amounts of contaminants are still present at the site and remediation efforts are ongoing. Due to the complexity and size of the site, the cleanup is being managed in three parts, referred to as Operable Units by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Operable Unit 1 - the estuary and salt marsh; Operable Unit 2 - the cell buildings area and groundwater; and, Operable Unit 3 - the upland soils and sediments where industrial activities took place. Each of these Operable Units has its own documents and schedule of remediation activities.
Links concerning the LCP Chemicals Superfund Site:
October 2019: EPA Releases Proposed Plan for Upland Soil at LCP Chemicals Site
March 2018: EPA Releases Remedial Design Work Plan
June 2017: EPA Releases Unopposed Motion to Enter Consent Decree and Response to Comments on Marsh
September 6, 2016: GEC Comments on the LCP Marsh Consent Decree
August 2016: Consent Decree and Statement of Work for LCP Chemicals Site Marsh
November 2015: Record of Decision and Response to Comments
March 2015: Technical Advisor's Comments on Proposed Plan
March 2015: GEC's Comments on Proposed Plan
February 2015: Site Boundaries Correct?
February 2015: Using New Cleanup Methods
February 2015: Fish Consumption
January 2015: Estuary Proposed Plan
December 2014: Proposed Plan Overview
November 2014: Estuary Proposed Plan Overview
November 2014: EPA Proposed Plan Summary
September 3, 2014: PCBs in People
September 2014: CO2 Groundwater Treatment Results
Does CO2 Treatment Form New Chemicals? Dr. DeFur Response October 2014
August 2013: Estuary and Upland Cleanup and Containment Options
March 2014: National Remedy Review Board Response
November 2013: Estuary Comments to the EPA
March 2013: Estuary Comments to the EPA
July 2013: Upland Comments to the EPA
June 2013 - Treatment of Groundwater with CO2 Proposed
May 2013 - LCP CO2 Sparging Groundwater treatment Comments
January 2013 - Risks to Humans and Wildlife - LCP Chemicals Superfund Site
September 2010 - Overview of the Public Health Assessment
August 2010 - LCP Chemicals Site Risk Assessments and Brine Pool
July 2009 - LCP Chemicals Site Brine Pool and Uplands Update
July 2009 - Questions & Answers - Health Risks and Brine Pool
July 2009 - Superfund Site Update, LCP Chemicals Superfund Site
Technical Assistance Update, July 2008
LCP Chemicals Upland Feasibility Plan, August, 2007
LCP Legal Case and How It Affected the GEC, February, 2007
Meeting about removal of caustic brine and mercury, October 18, 2006
Community action needed to save water, Sept. 29, 2006
LCP plume of contamination is growing, Sept. 13, 2006
LCP Site Groundwater Monitoring Shows Plume Movements, June 2006
Plant Site May Receive Rehabilitation, June 7, 2006
Caustic Brine and Chemicals Enter Drinking Water Aquifer at LCP Site, April 2006
Residents Seek Aid on Pollution, March 29, 2006
LCP Chemicals Site Mercury/Caustic Brine Pool Receiving EPA Attention, June 23, 2005
LCP Chemicals Superfund Site ARCO Neighborhood Soil Sampling Results, June 2005
Study finds lead in Arco, June 22, 2005
LCP Still Leaking Mercury Into Drinking Water - No Action from EPA, April 2005
Arco Neighborhood Sampling Results Withheld by EPA, April 2005
Arco Neighborhood Sampled -Results Expected in February 2005
- ARCO Neighborhood Testing Plan Revised, September 2004
- GEC Comments on Arco Sampling Plan, June 2004
- LCP Chemicals ARCO Neighborhood Testing Plan, May 2004
LCP Marsh Seeps Phytoremediation review, October 2003
Broken Promises by the EPA has left the Arco Neighborhood untested:
- EPA Again Urged to Study Cleanup Site, Agency Promises Thorough Testing, Sept. 4, 2003
- Arco Danger is Unclear, Sept. 4, 2003
LCP Chemicals Site Neighborhood Testing Review, June 2003
LCP Chemicals Marshlands Feasibility Studies, April 2002