Rare Earths Facility

The Rare Earths Facility was a production plant for various chemicals and metals including thorium, uranium, and radium.

[5][6][7][10][11] In the early years, people from the surrounding community used the mill tailings as fill dirt in various properties, such as their yards and gardens.

A woman who played in such a yard as a child later sued Kerr-McGee over her Hodgkin's disease and settled out of court in 1988.

[12] The West Chicago Sewage Treatment Plant was contaminated when mill tailings from REF were used as fill dirt there.

[3] In 1991, the Illinois Department of Public Health found elevated cancer rates in the community.