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Gulf Mobile and Ohio Railyard

Murphysboro, Illinois

Properties near the Meadows of Murphy Subdivision were previously operated as the Greenburg Junkyard. Battery plates and other debris left from this operation suggest that the lead contamination was deposited in this area from a battery cracking operation. Earlier in this century this property, in northern Murphysboro, was part of the former Mobile & Ohio rail yard site and was used as a railroad switching yard, roundhouse, and storage for railroad ties. Soil sampling indicated elevated levels of lead, dioxin, and other contaminants in and around the subdivision. Recently, the homeowners in the mobile home park accepted a buyout offer by the Canadian National Railway. The Canadian National Railway accepted responsibility of the cleanup.