On July 18, 2024, the EPA Removal Program received a referral from the EPA Remedial Program to evaluate a single residential property for Removal Action under the Cherokee County site, Operable Unit (OU) 07. The EPA Remedial Program confirmed elevated concentrations of lead in surface soil following notification from the Cherokee County Health Department of the presence of sensitive populations.
On August 12, 2024, an On-Scene Coordinator and EPA contractors mobilized to the site to initiate the emergency removal action. The removal action involved the excavation of 220 tons of lead-contaminated soil, backfilling of the excavated areas to original grade with clean topsoil, and restoring a grass lawn in areas of exposed soil.
Field activities concluded on September 16, 2024, and the Emergency Removal Action concluded on June 18, 2024.
Cherokee County Site Background
The property is located within the Cherokee County National Priority List site, which spans 115 square miles and represents the Kansas portion of the Tri-State mining district. It consists of mine tailings, soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater contaminated with heavy metals (principally lead, zinc and cadmium). The primary sources of contamination are the residual metals in the abandoned mine workings, chat piles and tailings impoundments, in addition to historical impacts from smelting operations. The site was placed on the National Priorities List in 1983 and organized into subsites, which were then divided into nine OUs. This Emergency Removal Action is administratively within OU7 of the site.
More information on the Cherokee County remedial site activities can be found at https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0700667.
