United States
Environmental Protection
Agency

National Priorities List (NPL)

* * *Final Site * * *

FORMER UNITED ZINC & ASSOCIATED

SMELTERS

OSWER/OSRTI
Washington, DC 20460

May 2013

Iola, Kansas

Allen County

(?) Site Location:

The Former United Zinc & Associated Smelters site is located in and around the city of Iola, Allen County, Kansas.
The site excludes areas that are being addressed by state response programs. Contamination related to Associated
Smelters extends into numerous residential properties stretching westward from Highway 169 along both sides of
Highway 54.

Site History:

In the early 1900s, the discovery and subsequent use of natural gas led to the development of zinc and lead smelting
operations in southeast Kansas. The Former United Zinc & Associated Smelters site was one of several zinc and lead
smelting operations in the area. These smelters operated primarily between 1902 and 1925. The main Former United
Zinc facility is located on the east side of Iola within a mixture of residential and commercial properties. All on-site
smelter facilities, including furnaces and processing facilities, building foundations and rail ties have been removed,
and the property has been graded, leveled and developed since the 1920s. Smelter waste piles located on the site when
the operation was discontinued appear to have been mixed with local material and spread throughout the area. There is
another former smelter operation located within the site that will be addressed.

1 Site Contamination/Contaminants:	

Residential yards and non-residential properties are contaminated with elevated levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium and
zinc which may be associated with historical lead and zinc smelting.

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