The East Helena Superfund Site sits in East Helena, Montana, in Lewis and Clark County. It is the former ASARCO smelting plant, which left more than a century of lead and arsenic contamination in soil, sludge, and groundwater. EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List in 1984. Cleanup is organized into two operable units. The first covers process ponds and was completed under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulations in January 1998. The second covers residential and agricultural lands and remains active.
Lead and arsenic are the main contaminants of concern. They appear in residential yards, commercial properties, unpaved roads, parks, school grounds, and flood channel areas. Groundwater is contaminated with arsenic and selenium, though it is not used as a drinking water source and does not pose a direct threat to human health. Groundwater migration is under control, with plumes stabilizing and shrinking over time. Human exposure across the broader site is not yet fully under control, meaning unsafe contamination levels remain and people could reasonably come into contact with them.
Major cleanup work is well underway. All former smelter buildings have been demolished. Contaminated soils have been moved to on-site management units and covered with an 80-acre protective cap. Contaminated topsoil has been removed and replaced at 793 residential yards, 50 commercial properties, and hundreds of other parcels. Prickly Pear Creek was rebuilt into a new channel with 175 acres of restored wetlands. The remaining large task is capping the 14-million-ton slag pile after slag recycling finishes. EPA received $40 million in federal funding plus $10 million from the ASARCO settlement in 2024 to continue this work. A contractor has been selected, and residential yard cleanup is expected to begin in summer 2026. The current remedial action phase is estimated to be completed between September and November 2027.
More than 750 acres of former smelter land have already been sold or transferred for reuse, including schools, housing, and a conservation area. As of December 2024, 72 businesses operate on-site, employing 461 people. Institutional controls remain in place, including permits required for moving soil and a controlled groundwater area established in 2013.
Residents can stay involved in several ways. EPA holds weekly office hours on Thursdays from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at Galaxy Roasting. Property owners who submitted consent forms will be notified about cleanup schedules in April or May. Free blood lead testing for children is available through the Lewis and Clark County Lead Education and Assistance Program. Residents can also email EastHelenaSuperfund@epa.gov, sign up for newsletters, or contact EPA and county staff directly.
