From 1923 to 2009, Hercules, Inc. produced hundreds if chemical products, including paints, varnishes, pesticides, in the city. Multiple EPA inspections since its closure have revealed benzene, along with more than a dozen other contaminants in groundwater. The agency proposed to add Hercules in March 2021 to its Superfund National Priorities List after its last inspection. The Delaware-based company was purchased by Ashland Global in 2016. It settled a lawsuit for $3 million with the City of Hattiesburg after it was alleged that the factory had “knowingly and improperly disposed” of hazardous waste. Two years prior, the EPA required Hercules spend $1 million to remediate groundwater in the city. The EPA stated that groundwater contamination extends beyond Hercules’ property line, below an industrial complex, and into a residential area. Eight drinking water wells are maintained by Hattiesburg within two miles of this site. Although the EPA didn’t find any adverse effects to these wells, the agency said that it would continue sampling the residential area. This includes many apartment complexes located within a mile of the former factory. The agency will be accepting public comments until June 16 and will host a public meeting May 19 at C.E. Roy Community Center, Hattiesburg, at 6 P.M. The comments will be taken into consideration by the EPA when it decides whether to add the Hercules site or not to its National Priorities List (or NPL). This would trigger an EPA-led remediation process. After that, the agency would collaborate with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality) and other stakeholders to redevelop this site. Hercules would be the second Hattiesburg location to receive the NPL. After detecting contaminants in fish from Davis Timber Company at a nearby country clubs in the 1970s, and 1980s, the EPA included Davis Timber Company in its 2000 NPL. After a redevelopment effort, a shelter for animals was built on the site. It opened in 2013 and was joined by Fields of Barktopia, a dog park. In 2018, the EPA removed it from NPL. If it were added to the NPL, Hercules could become the ninth site currently on the Mississippi list. All other sites except one were either a chemical product facility or wood facility. Below are maps of the eight other sites.