United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region VII
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

The Washington County Lead District – Old Mines Site is located in a heavily mined region of eastern Missouri known as the Washington County Lead District.  The Old Mines Site primarily includes residential areas within and around the communities of Old Mines, Kingston, Fertile, Tiff and other smaller communities.  It is only a portion of the larger Washington County Lead Mining District.

Mines in the Old Mines Area include the following:

Pfizer Kingston School
Mobar Star Mine
Milchem Whale-Scott Mine
AW Wood Mine
DeSoto Mining Company – Fertile Mine
Dresser Minerals Big River
Milchem Sun Mine
General Barite Blackwell
Dresser Minerals Mine #44
Dresser Minerals Racola
H&P Mining Company
General Barite Old Mines
Terrace Mines
Pfizer Arnault School
Dresser Minerals Breton Creek #3
Dresser Minerals Mine #11
NL Bariod Blackwell
Dresser Minerals Mine #6

In August 2005, EPA began an integrated assessment that included soil and groundwater sampling in the Old Mines area.  During this sampling event, EPA sampled the soil at 85 residences located on or near mining or mine-waste disposal areas.  Based on this data, approximately 47% of these residential properties had soils which exceeded 400 parts per million (ppm) and roughly 13% had soils which exceeded 1200 ppm for lead.  EPA also sampled approximately 77 private drinking water wells in the Old Mines area beginning in August 2005.  Of these 77 wells sampled, 7 exceeded 15 parts per billion (ppb) for lead, and one well exceeded 3030 ppb for barium, which exceeds the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for lead and barium in drinking water.

EPA completed excavation and backfilling of thirty-four residential properties.  In doing so, 31,722 cubic yards of contaminated soil was delivered to the repository, or 933 cubic yards per property.   Upon delivery of the soil to the repository, it is stockpiled, sampled, and analyzed for Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP).  If the stockpile fails TCLP, it is treated and resampled until it passes.

One hundred seventeen drinking water wells have been found to have metals contamination above the Maximum Contaminant Level.  Of those, eighty-seven are receiving bottled water and the remainder have declined.

Totals:

Properties screened:  790
Properties with lead > 1200 :42
Properties excavated:  34
Drinking water wells sampled:  787
Drinking water wells >MCL:  117
Residences provided with bottled water:  87

Sample the remaining properties where access has been granted, and excavate those properties with contamination levels above the action level.