OSWER/OSRTI Washington, DC 20460



## N ATIONAL 

## P RIORITIES 

## L IST 

## (NPL)

***Proposed Site *** September 2012


### FORMER UNITED ZINC & ASSOCIATED Iola, Kansas

Allen County SMELTERS

 **Site Location:**
The Former United Zinc & Associated Smelters site is located in and around the city of Iola, Allen County, Kansas, west of Highway 16 9 . The site excludes are as that 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 lead 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 operated 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 pr ocessing 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 l ocal 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 l eve ls 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 residential 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 residential 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.]

For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be fo und 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.