As part of its Superfund cleanup process, the Environmental Protection Agency expects to begin testing for contamination at J.H. Baxter & Co. in west Eugene as soon as this month.
J.H. Baxter, at 3494 Roosevelt Blvd., has long troubled residents of the Bethel and Trainsong neighborhoods. For nearly eight decades, the company treated wood products such as utility poles with toxic chemicals designed to help the wood resist decay, but which are known to persist in the environment, contaminating soil and groundwater.
The treatment process used pentachlorophenol, a chemical linked to cancer, reproductive harm and immune system damage.
When J.H. Baxter ceased operations in 2022, contamination at the site was so severe that the EPA immediately launched a short-term cleanup to remove the most hazardous materials. That work was scheduled to conclude in 2025 but will now continue through January and possibly longer because of limited capacity at an EPA-approved disposal site…