East Chicago site added, Elkhart site proposed for federal Superfund assistance

IDEM works to obtain federal funds for site clean-ups

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has worked to obtain federal assistance for addressing lead contamination from the U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery site in East Chicago. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) announced today that the site has been added to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) for hazardous waste sites. 

The U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery site is located at 5300 Kennedy Ave., East Chicago, Ind. Lead most likely was dispersed from the facility’s smokestacks during its operation from 1920 to 1985, and has been detected in residential soil north of the property. U.S. EPA has been working to remove lead-contaminated soil from nearby homes. Data from an IDEM study helped secure the federal assistance. Under the Superfund NPL program, IDEM will continue to provide assistance and support to U.S. EPA staff who will be working further to investigate and address the contamination.

U.S. EPA is proposing to add to the Superfund NPL the Lane Street Ground Water Contamination site in Elkhart, where ground water has been contaminated by trichloroethylene, or TCE, a hazardous industrial solvent commonly used for cleaning machinery. Exposure to TCE at harmful levels can affect the nervous system, liver, lungs and heart. An IDEM site investigation in 2007 led U.S. EPA to bring municipal water line connections to about 30 homes in the Lane Street area.

For the Federal Register notices and more information about new and final sites, visit U.S. EPA’s Web site at www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm.