Murray Smelter

Overview

The Murray Smelter sits on 142 acres in Murray City, Utah, and was once the largest lead smelter in the country. Smelting operations ran from 1872 through 1949, first as the Germania Smelter and Refinery Works, then as the Murray Smelter. The site was proposed for the National Priorities List in January 1994 and remains in active cleanup today.

Smelting left behind a wide range of contaminants in soil, sediment, groundwater, surface water, and solid waste. The full list includes aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, and zinc. The U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has determined these substances pose an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment. People can be exposed by ingesting or touching contaminated soil, surface water, or groundwater. Groundwater migration is considered under control, but whether human exposure is currently under control cannot be determined due to insufficient data.

Major cleanup work took place between 1995 and 2001. Workers demolished smokestacks, removed lead-contaminated soil from nearby residential properties, excavated arsenic-contaminated soil, consolidated and capped 90,000 cubic yards of lower-level arsenic soil, and put institutional controls in place. The site has two operable units. Operable Unit 1 covers sitewide contamination and uses a mix of approaches including monitored natural attenuation, excavation, an engineered cap, offsite disposal, and institutional controls. Operable Unit 2 covers the stacks area and does not yet have a final decision document. A combined remedial investigation and feasibility study for a separate operable unit is estimated to occur between January and March 2027. Physical construction of the cleanup is not yet complete.

As of October 2025, the EPA is also re-evaluating lead risks in soils and yards under the Lead Directive, which recognizes that lead poses particular risks to children under 7 and pregnant or nursing women. Families near the site with young children who have not had soil replaced are encouraged to have their children tested for lead annually. The EPA and Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ) plan to share information about any proposed changes as planning proceeds. The site has won a Phoenix Award for redevelopment, and current on-site uses include a light rail station, a hospital, a school, a police training center, and various businesses that together support thousands of local jobs.

Community members with questions can reach the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator, Ashlin Brooks, by email or phone. The EPA's Remedial Project Manager is David Connolly. UDEQ staff members Maureen Petit and Dave Allison also handle project and community involvement questions. Public records related to the site are available at the Murray Library in Murray City and the EPA Superfund Records Center in Denver, Colorado.