An official website of the United States government.

This is not the current EPA website. To navigate to the current EPA website, please go to www.epa.gov. This website is historical material reflecting the EPA website as it existed on January 19, 2021. This website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. More information »

EPA in Alabama

Fruithurst, AL

Following an Auburn University study in 2017, local residents expressed concerns about cases of childhood illness in the communities of Fruithurst and Muscadine, Alabama, to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM).

In response, EPA and ADEM performed several environmental investigations in the communities for the possible presence of contaminants. These included sampling at and around a nearby former rubber manufacturer (the Preferred Compounding Corp, also known as ProBlend), and re-sampling the same former drinking water wells that Auburn University researchers tested.

The investigations focused on the following contaminants: volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and metals in soils, surface water, groundwater and sediment. No contaminants were detected above action levels in any of the samples collected, and no further investigative actions are planned.

You may need a PDF reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA’s About PDF page to learn more.