EPA Begins Cleanup at the Cheboygan Tissue Fire Site in Michigan

EPA Begins Cleanup at the Cheboygan Tissue Fire Site in Michigan

More truck traffic along South Main Street is anticipated, South Main Street sidewalk will remain closed

April 18, 2024

CHICAGO (April 18, 2024) - This spring, U.S Environmental Protection Agency began cleanup of the remaining hazardous waste exposed by a structural fire at a warehouse on Sept. 13, 2023, at 502 N. Main St. in Cheboygan, Michigan. The agency anticipates the ongoing cleanup will take a few months.

The cleanup involves removing hazardous debris including a catch basin contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, along with a large quantity of mixed recyclable material that is ignitable--or potentially combustible under certain conditions. Waste will be separated from scrap metal, treated to reduce residual heat and disposed at an approved, off-site facility. The EPA will continue to monitor the air for soot and volatile organic compounds at the site and in the adjacent neighborhood during the cleanup is finished.

The EPA is coordinating with the Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Cheboygan County, the city of Cheboygan, and facility owner's representatives to ensure a safe, timely, and effective cleanup.

During the fire and its aftermath last year, the EPA monitored the air, sampled surface water on the Cheboygan River, and removed debris from the river and affected neighborhoods as requested by local emergency responders.

For more information, please visit the Cheboygan Tissue Fire website.