For Immediate Release:  May 9, 2023

Contact:  Erin Hatfield, (405) 437.8468

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will host an open house to discuss the Fansteel Metals/FMRI site being proposed to the National Priorities List (NPL). This meeting will provide the community with information about the site and the Superfund process and will be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Community Center in Muskogee, 300 W Martin Luther King Street.

The Fansteel Metals/FMRI facility is located at 10 Tantalum Place along the Arkansas River about 2.5 miles northeast of Muskogee. The facility is located within the historical boundaries of Cherokee Nation land and is adjacent to historical Muscogee Creek Nation land.  Fansteel Metals/FMRI operated from 1957 to 1989 and produced tantalum and columbium metals from uranium ore, thorium ore, and tin slag feedstock. Radioactive residues from the operations were disposed in on-site acidic ponds.

The state of Oklahoma has designated this site as its single top-priority site to be listed on the NPL for Superfund cleanup with support from the Cherokee and Muscogee Creek tribes.

For more information about the Fansteel Metals/FMRI site, contact Makenna Hartman, DEQ Project Manager, at 405.702.5159.

Media inquiries should be directed to Erin Hatfield at 405.437.8468.

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