Smelting operations began in Pittsburg in the late 1870’s and continued on and off through WWI.  There were a total of eight different smelting facilities known to be located within Pittsburg at one time or another.  The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has documented the existence of nearly 30 former smelter sites in southeast Kansas alone.  Some have been previously remediated by EPA, while others remain in various stages of assessment and cleanup.  The Pittsburg Zinc Site consists of residential yards with residual lead contamination from zinc smelting operations associated with three former smelter sites (Robert Lanyon, S.H. Lanyon, and W&J Lanyon), collectively referred to as the former Pittsburg Zinc Smelters.  The Pittsburg Zinc Site has previously been the subject of numerous KDHE assessment efforts conducted between 1987 and 2008. KDHE referred the three former smelter sites and any contaminated residential property to EPA in September 2008.  In August of 2009, at the request of KDHE, the three former smelter site properties were referred back to the State for possible enrollment in the voluntary cleanup program (VCP).  

The primary contaminant of concern at this site is lead and lead compounds.  Lead and lead compounds are hazardous substances as defined by Section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), and is listed at 40 C.F.R. § 302.4 and have been detected in the ground water (KDHE), soils, and smelter wastes at the site. 

In March 2009, EPA began removal assessment activities at the site.  The first phase of the RSE included all properties within 500 feet of the former Pittsburg Zinc smelters, and also included high child use areas in Pittsburg such as city owned parks, schools, daycare facilities, and playgrounds at churches requesting an assessment.  In addition, the Phase I RSE included households with children having a documented elevated blood lead level (EBL), and a few miscellaneous properties where concerned citizens requested assistance.  A second phase of RSE sampling is planned for three separate areas bordering the Phase I sample area to the northwest, northeast, and southwest.  The selection of these areas for the Phase II RSE is based on the direction of prevailing winds and the proximity to other properties with elevated soil lead levels.   

The Phase I RSE consisted of 182 assessed properties.  Screening data revealed lead soil concentrations greater than 550 ppm. The site specific action level and soil cleanup level as calculated by the EPA Regional Toxicologist, at 25 residential properties and several commercial/industrial properties.  Two parcels where the former smelters were once located and one residential property exhibited soil lead levels in excess of 1200 ppm.

In addition, Arsenic was detected in soils at a maximum concentration of 35.6 mg/kg, a level that would represent a minimal health threat in Pittsburg, Kansas according to the EPA Regional toxicologist.  Arsenic is often found in conjunction with other heavy metals that comprise smelter waste contamination.  However, the areas in which arsenic was detected at the site exhibited no correlating elevated levels of lead in the soil.  Therefore, the arsenic is believed to either be naturally occurring, or associated with the historical legal application of pesticides.