OSWER/OSRTI Washington, DC 20460


## N ATIONAL 

## P RIORITIES 

## L IST 

## (NPL)

***Final Site *** May 2013 

### FORMER UNITED ZINC & ASSOCIATED Iola, Kansas SMELTERS Allen County

 **Site Location:**
The Former United Zinc & Associated Smelters site is located in and around the cit y of Iola, Allen County, Kansas

. The site excludes are as t hat are being addressed by state response p rog rams. Contamination related to A ssociated S melters extends into numerous residential properties stretching westward from Highway 169 along both sides of Highway 54.

 **Site History:** In the early 1900s, the discovery and subsequent use of natural gas led to the development of zinc and lead smelting operations in southeast Kansas. The Former United Zinc & Associated Smelter s site was one of several zinc and lead smelting operations in the area. These smelters oper ated primarily between 1902 and 1925. The main Former United Zinc facility is located on the east side of Iola within a mixture of residential and commercial properties. All on

- site smelter facilities, including furnaces and processing facilities, building foundations and rail ties have been removed, and the property has been graded, leveled and developed since the 1920 s. Smelter waste piles located on the site when the operation was discontinued appear to have been mixed with local material and spread throughout the area. There is another former smelter operation located within the site that will be addressed

.

 **Site Contamination/Contaminants:** Residential yards and non

- residential properties are contaminated with elevated levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium and zinc which may be associated with historical lead and zinc smelting

.

 **Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment:** Residential and commercial properties are contaminated. The property where the former smelter operated is mainly vacant but includes a few active businesses

.
 **Response Activities (to date):** To date, the EPA has sampled 1,686 out of approximately 3,400 r esidential yards. Of the 1,686 residential yards sampled, approximately 530 had elevated levels of lead above 400 parts per million (ppm). The EPA has excavated approximately 130 residential yards with lead levels above 800 ppm and replaced the contaminated soils with clean backfill soils followed by reestablishment of grass yards

.

 **Need for NPL Listing:**
The state of Kansas referred the site to the EPA for Superfund removal action in September 2005 because of the heavy metal contamination. Kansas and the EPA evaluated other cleanup programs and no other options were available. The EPA received letters of support for placing the Former United Zinc & Associated Smelter s site on the NPL from the governor of Kansas and the mayor of Iola

.

[The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaluated with the HRS. The description may change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination. See 56 FR 5600, February 11, 1991, or subsequent FR notices.]

For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of expo sure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR To xFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp or by telephone at 1

- 888

- 42

- ATSDR or 1

- 888

- 422

- 8737.