TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (WAND) — A group of residents in the Christian County city of Taylorville say they will move ahead with testing of wells to determine if contaminated water has seeped into drinking water wells. The Illinois EPA says there is still contaminated water at a former manufactured gas plant (MPG) near Manners Park.
Manufactured gas plants were used in the 1800s and early 1900s to produce natural gas for use in homes and businesses. An MPG plant in Taylorville, which closed in 1932, was determined to be the cause of neuroblastoma in several children in the 1980s and 90s when a tank was moved by Central Illinois Public Service (CIPS). The tank contained toxic coal tar. Several children died while others became seriously ill. Parents of those children sued and recovered monetary damages in 1998.
Ameren, which merged with CIPS, is now responsible for the site which is located next to Manners Park. In the summer, the company began drilling and digging at the site for a pilot project. Residents complained of odors coming from the location and the IEPA issued a stop work order to perform air monitoring. One resident, Brenda Kimble, was told by the IEPA during a community meeting Thursday, the final results of the air monitoring are not complete even though the testing was performed this past summer.
“What are you going to do to protect us,” Kimble asked referring to the IEPA during an interview with WAND News. “Because in July and August we were exposed and here they don’t even have the full reports back yet.”
October 6, 2023 Manufactured Gas Plant site in Taylorville, Illinois.
Kimble went on to tell WAND News there are people in Timber Lake Estates and Hewittsville, located near the site, who are still using wells. “We are moving forward with having those wells tested,” Kimball said.
Ameren did not attend the community forum. The company told WAND News in October it is meeting both state and federal EPA standards.
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