Background

The 30-acre Frit Industries site is located in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. Since the early 1950s, Frit Industries has manufactured micronutrients and trace element additives for fertilizer on site. In 1979, a fire destroyed portions of the facility, resulting in the release of 81,000 gallons of water contaminated with heavy metals. The contaminated water caused a fish kill in nearby Coon Creek. Site activities, in conjunction with waste disposal practices and the 1979 release, contaminated soil, surface water and groundwater with heavy metals. Following cleanup, EPA took the site off the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1997.