Sharon Steel Corp. (Midvale Tailings)

Overview

The Sharon Steel Corp. (Midvale Tailings) site covers 470 acres in Midvale, Utah, where a smelting and ore milling facility ran from 1906 to 1971. Operations there produced lead, copper, zinc, and other metals. Waste management practices from that era contaminated air, soil, surface water, and groundwater. In 1982, Utah environmental officials found that nearby residents were using tailings material in gardens and children's sandboxes. Testing confirmed high lead levels in those areas and high arsenic levels in groundwater. The site was added to the federal Superfund National Priorities List in August 1990.

The three contaminants of concern are arsenic, cadmium, and lead. All three appear in soil and sediment. Arsenic and lead were found both at the mill site and at nearby residential and commercial properties. Cadmium is present across all affected media in both areas. Groundwater contamination migration is stabilized, and EPA has confirmed there is no unacceptable discharge to surface water.

EPA divided the site into two operable units. Operable Unit 1 covers 270 undeveloped acres, including a capped tailings pile holding 10 million cubic yards of waste, plus groundwater. Operable Unit 2 covers about 200 acres of residential and commercial properties. Cleanup work ran from 1991 to 1999 and included soil excavation and replacement, wetland restoration, an engineered cap over the tailings pile, and ongoing groundwater monitoring. EPA deleted the site from the National Priorities List in September 2004. Five-year reviews have continued since then, with the most recent completed in August 2024. The site has not yet achieved sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status, and human exposure status cannot yet be determined due to insufficient data.

The site has since been redeveloped into View 72, a mixed-use development. As of December 2024, it supports 149 businesses employing 2,463 people and generating an estimated $889 million in annual sales. EPA, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, and the City of Midvale continue to monitor the site.

EPA released an updated lead directive in October 2025 that changes the blood lead level of concern and the soil screening level for lead at Superfund sites. The site team is currently evaluating how this directive affects the Sharon Steel site. EPA recommends that residents near the site with children under 7 have their soil tested and their children tested for lead annually if soil replacement has not been completed at their property. Decisions about next steps will continue to draw on site-specific data and community input. Public records are available at the Tyler Branch Library in Midvale or at the EPA Superfund Records Center in Denver. Document copies can be requested by calling 303-312-7273.