The Allied Smelting Site includes eight properties adjacent to and downwind of the former Allied Smelting Corporation. Allied Smelting Corporation was a secondary lead smelter located at 5000-5116 W. Lincoln Avenue, West Allis, WI 53219. The source property was initially developed as the Grey Iron Foundry in 1945. Allied Smelting Corporation operated the property from 1950-1975 as a secondary lead smelter that recycled waste lead/acid batteries.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) investigated waste remaining at the Site from 1997-2015. Waste fill at the Site consisted of foundry sand, cinders, and slag. The highest detected concentrations of lead and arsenic in the on-site soil/waste material were 210,000 ppm and 450 ppm respectively. WDNR performed a Pre-CERCLIS screening of the source property in 2004 and closed the source property as an historic fill site in 2015, requiring institutional controls, including a cap over the contaminated area. A second Pre-CERCLIS screening and additional investigations were conducted in 2014 and 2015 after an article about the site appeared in USA Today. During these investigations WDNR focused on sampling surface soil at historically downwind locations in the public right-of-ways. The highest concentration of lead detected off-site was 1,700 ppm.
The results of the 2014 and 2015 investigation prompted the involvement of the EPA Removal Program. WDNR officially requested EPA Emergency Response Branch assistance on October 18, 2016. EPA conducted a removal site assessment that identified eight impacted properties. An Action Memo for a time critical removal action was signed on July 7, 2017. The Removal Action started on August 29, 2017.
