Interstate Lead Co. (ILCO)

Overview

Interstate Lead Company ran a secondary lead smelter and battery recycling facility in Leeds, Alabama from 1970 to 1992. The EPA added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1986 after operations left contaminated soil, groundwater, sediment, and surface water across the main facility and seven satellite locations. Cleanup has been divided into three operable units covering soil remediation, groundwater remediation, and surface water and sediment in nearby waterways.

The site contains lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, antimony, beryllium, manganese, nickel, benzene, and several trimethylbenzene compounds. Lead is present in soil, groundwater, and sediment. Arsenic and antimony appear in both soil and groundwater. Between 2000 and 2001, responsible parties removed and treated over 220,000 tons of contaminated soil and debris. In 2012, the EPA updated the groundwater cleanup approach, switching from pump-and-treat to sodium bicarbonate injection for the main facility. Physical construction of the cleanup finished in September 2014.

A 2016 Five-Year Review found human exposure is currently under control and groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. A public water line serves area residents and businesses, limiting drinking water exposure from contaminated groundwater. Land use restrictions and well installation limits are in place at the main facility and two satellite sites. A follow-up groundwater investigation began in October 2022 and is expected to finish between March and May 2028, with long-term response action estimated to start in mid-to-late 2028. The next Five-Year Review is estimated between August and October 2026.

Part of the site is actively in use, with residential, commercial, municipal properties, and a church present. As of December 2024, two on-site businesses employed 21 people and generated about $6.8 million in annual sales. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List and has not achieved sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status.

Community members can stay involved through public notices, public meetings, and interviews organized by the EPA. Site records are available for review at the Leeds Public Library at 802 Parkway Drive SE in Leeds.