A 6.7-mile stretch of creek and river in DuPage County, Illinois, has reached a major milestone after decades of radioactive contamination linked to a former industrial facility. The US Environmental Protection Agency deleted the Kerr-McGee Kress Creek/West Branch DuPage River Superfund site from the National Priorities List in August 2026, meaning the site no longer requires further Superfund response action to protect human health and the environment. The contamination was linked to the former Rare Earths Facility in West Chicago, which operated from 1932 to 1973 and processed rare earth elements and radioactive materials, as well as producing gas lantern mantles. Radioactive surface runoff from the facility entered Kress Creek, while thorium-containing material spread through the sediment and banks of the creek and the West Branch of the DuPage River, as well as some surrounding floodplain areas. This remarkable environmental recovery demonstrates how sustained, decades-long remediation efforts can successfully restore contaminated waterways, offering communities renewed confidence in their local ecosystems' long-term health and safety.
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