www.NWITimes.com
According to the EPA, over 100,000 tons of contaminated soil at the former West Calumet Housing Complex is set to be removed by the end of the year. Today known as the USS Lead Superfund site, the area originally included the U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery, Inc., the West Calumet Housing Complex, and other surrounding areas.
The EPA first discovered lead contamination spreading from the Smelter in the 1980s, and additional hotspots were found in later decades. Blood testing in 2016 revealed a large number of children living at the West Calumet Housing Complex had elevated blood levels. Following the testing results, the EPA and local agencies relocated residents, demolished the West Calumet Housing Complex, and began remediating contaminated soil at the site.
The property has since been rezoned from residential to light industrial, reducing the criteria for the ongoing soil cleanup.