Cherokee Zinc - Weir Smelter

Overview

The Cherokee Zinc - Weir Smelter site sits in Weir, Kansas, in Cherokee County. The smelter operated from 1873 until around 1918. Lead from historical smelting settled into nearby residential soils, and sampling by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment between 2004 and 2013 confirmed elevated lead levels in yards close to the former facility. The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in September 2021 and split cleanup into three operable units: a sitewide unit, residential yards (OU1), and the former smelter property (OU2).

Lead is the main contaminant of concern. Arsenic, cadmium, and chromium also exceed health-based benchmark levels on or near the former smelter property. Selenium has also been identified as a possible concern. Soil in residential yards is the primary affected medium, and groundwater investigations are ongoing, with monitoring wells installed in spring and summer 2025. Sampling along Brush Creek near the former smelter processing area is also continuing.

The EPA removal program has cleaned up 57 residential properties where lead exceeded 400 parts per million, the Removal Management Level. Time-critical removal actions ran from 2018 to 2021, covering 54 residential yards, one daycare, and one park. Three more properties were added in 2025, with additional removal work in residential yards scheduled from July through November 2025. A broader remedial investigation began September 22, 2021. For OU1, a record of decision is expected between September and November 2026, with remedial design and action estimated to begin shortly after. For OU2, the investigation and feasibility study began in June 2023 and is estimated to finish between June and August 2028. An Early Action Interim Record of Decision for residential yards is anticipated in 2026, with a final Record of Decision for OU2 expected in 2027. No physical construction of permanent remedies has been completed yet, and human exposure control status is listed as insufficient data, meaning there is not yet enough reliable information to confirm whether people could currently be exposed to unsafe contamination levels. Groundwater migration status is also listed as insufficient data.

Community members can get involved in several ways. The EPA plans to publish a Proposed Plan for residential yard cleanup in April 2026 and will hold a public meeting in Weir where residents can ask questions. People can also contact the EPA to request yard or private well testing, review site documents online, and provide input during public comment periods. Community members may also participate in anonymous Community Interviews, form local groups and invite EPA presentations, or apply for a technical assistance grant. The Technical Assistance Services for Communities program provides free help from scientists and engineers to explain technical information at no cost to the community.