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NPL Site Narrative for Smeltertown Site
SMELTERTOWN
Salida, Colorado
Federal Register Notice: February 7, 1992The Smeltertown site covers approximately 100 acres in a rural area near Salida, Choffee County, Colorado. It consists of areas involving operations of Koppers, Inc., CoZinCo, Inc., and a smelter.
Koppers treated railroad ties on the site during 1926-46. When the surface soil became saturated with creosote dripping from the ties, a layer of sand was added and operations continued. The current owner, Butala Construction Co., scraped the soils into a pile to make room for gravel mining operations.
CoZinCo has processed zinc sulfate and smelter slag on the site since 1977. Soil on the property contains elevated levels of heavy metals, including chromium, lead, zinc, antimony, nickel, and lead, according to a 1987 EPA report. Contaminants were found in three drum storage areas, two ponds used to hold spent processing water, a pile consisting of sludge scraped from the ponds, and an area where sludge was worked into the soil.
While the smelter operated (1902-1920), molten slag was removed from the furnaces and dumped down a bluff toward the Arkansas River. Shallow soil in the smelter area is also contaminated from smelter stack emissions and spilled ore.
Ground water on the site is contaminated with heavy metals (zinc, barium, manganese, and antimony) and creosote constituents (fluorene and 2-methylnaphthalene), according to a 1988 EPA report. An estimated 3,700 people obtain drinking water from public and private wells and springs within 4 miles of the site, the nearest approximately 1,000 feet from the site.
The 1988 report also documented metals and creosote constituents in air, and metals in the Arkansas River downstream of where Kimmet Spring discharges into the river. Two recreation areas are nearby, and the river is used for fishing. An estimated 5,200 people live within 4 miles of the site.
Butala Construction Co. workers can be exposed to contaminated soil on the site. Since the site is accessible, the 200 people living within 1 mile of the site may also be exposed.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.