USS Lead Superfund Site

Cleanup Status East Chicago, Indiana



Site Name: U.S. Smelter & Lead
Refinery Superfund Site

Size: 79 acres

The site and surrounding properties
are zoned for industrial land uses.
Adjacent activities include a large
chemical factory and a tank farm.
The site is bordered by the Industrial
Harbor Belt Railroad to the north,
Interstate 80/90 to the south,
Kennedy Avenue to the east and the
Indiana Harbor Canal to the west.
Surrounding population: 1/2 mile, ,
2,571 people; 2 1/2 miles, 70,346 <
people; 4 miles, 108, 935 people.

Superfund	A

The National Priorities List or
NPL is a roster of the most
hazardous waste sites in the
country that are eligible for cleanup under EPA's
Superfund program. The USS Lead site was
originally proposed for the NPL in 1992, but
consideration was put on hold when the Agency
decided to pursue cleanup funding under another
federal program called the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA cleanups are for
operating, viable facilities, so due to the USS Lead
bankruptcy EPA is re-evaluating current conditions
at the site to determine if it is eligible for the NPL.
Before a site is placed on the Superfund list it must
be evaluated or assessed using EPA's "Hazard
Ranking System." If the site scores high enough as
an actual or potential threat to public health and
the environment, it can qualify for the NPL. The
public also gets a chance to comment before a site
is officially placed on the NPL.

	 December 2007

The site is located in an industrialized section of southern
East Chicago, Ind., adjacent to Interstate 80/90.

I RCRA

Prior to the USS Lead bankruptcy,
several cleanup actions were undertaken
on the site under RCRA. In one of these
actions, EPA designated an area on the
site as a "Corrective Action Management
Unit" or CAMU in 1996. The CAMU
consolidated the hazardous material
from three closed waste dumps into one
location and also received contaminated
sediment (mud) and soil from cleanup
projects on other portions of the USS
Lead site. Indiana Department of
ivironmental Management now wants to
a post-closure permit for the CAMU
facility to cover future operations, maintenance
and monitoring. The permit also establishes a trust
fund for post-closure costs based on USS Lead's
ability to pay. IDEM is expected to issue a
response to public comments on the permit and a
final decision by the end of 2007.

For More Information on the status of the USS
Lead Superfund Site, please contact:

Michael Berkoff

EPA Remedial Project Manager

312-353-8983

berkoff. m ichael@epa. gov

Janet Pope

EPA Community Involvement Coordinator

312-353-0628

pope.janet@epa.gov

EPA Region 5 toll-free:

800-621-8431

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