HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – On Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the agency added a Hattiesburg site to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

The addition of Hercules Inc. will prioritize cleanup for the contaminated site, according to the EPA.

“EPA remains committed to ensuring communities living near the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination get the health and environmental protections they deserve,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Adding the Hattiesburg and Bellevue locations to our National Priorities List will advance environmental justice and help address longstanding pollution that has impacted these communities for far too long.”

The Hercules Inc. site was home to a former 200-acre chemical manufacturer located in a mixed residential, commercial, and industrial area. According to the EPA, more than chemical products, including paper and textile chemicals, paints, varnishes, pesticides and insecticides, were produced during operations.

Officials said improper handling and disposal of these chemicals led to soil, waste and groundwater contamination in amounts that exceed EPA’s Regional Screening Levels (RSL) and Safe Drinking Water Act Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).