Oregon housing development listed for superfund cleanup

Medford, Ore -- The Environmental Protection Agency placed a housing development in Southern Oregon on the superfund list Thursday.

Eighty people, about half of them children, used to live at North Ridge Estates in Klamath Falls. The EPA began cleaning up asbestos there in 2003. The agency removed almost 150 tons of contaminated soil and debris, the remains of army barracks that had once been on the site. But each spring, more asbestos worked its way to the surface.

Most families chose to relocate in 2006. Two families still live at the site, and an apartment building across the street is also occupied. Asbestos can cause cancer and a fatal lung disease The Superfund listing will make more federal funding available for cleanup at North Ridge Estates. A former gasworks facility in Bremerton, Washington has also been proposed to the EPA’s national priorities list.