NL Industries/Taracorp Lead Smelter

Overview

A secondary lead smelter operated in Granite City, Illinois from around 1900 until 1983. The facility recycled batteries and processed lead, leaving contamination spread across 100 square blocks in three cities: Granite City, Madison, and Venice. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1986. Today, the property is in mixed use, with businesses and residences occupying parts of the affected area.

Lead is the contaminant of concern. It has been found in soil and solid waste across the site. Crushed battery case materials were used to fill low-lying areas in some neighborhoods, adding to the spread. Direct contact with and ingestion of lead-contaminated soil and battery materials pose health risks, particularly in residential areas. Groundwater near a large slag pile contains heavy metals, but that contamination stays on site and does not affect the area's public water supply, which comes from the Mississippi River.

EPA and potentially responsible parties carried out extensive cleanup from 1993 to 2000, covering more than 1,500 properties. A final remedy was selected in March 1990 and included excavation, onsite consolidation of waste, an engineered cap, and institutional controls. Construction of the remedy was completed in September 2000. Cap repairs were finished in 2009. About 85 properties were never cleaned to recommended lead action levels because residents did not allow access. Responsible parties are working to contact those residents to request permission to sample and clean up soil if needed.

The most recent five-year review, completed in April 2024, found that cleanup actions are in line with the selected remedy and remain protective in the short term. However, long-term protectiveness has not yet been confirmed. Human exposure has not been confirmed as under control due to gaps in current exposure data. In January 2024, EPA updated its guidance for lead in residential soil at Superfund sites. The site team is now re-assessing site data against that new guidance to determine whether a new cleanup level is needed and whether additional work is required. That determination is expected to take about two years. Additional remedial action is estimated to occur between June and August 2027.

Community members who encounter battery chips in or around cleanup areas are encouraged to contact EPA. Records about the site are available at the Granite City Public Library at 2001 Delmar Street. The EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator and Remedial Project Manager handle questions.