AMERICAN LEAD CORPORATION
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
Cleanup Activities
On this page:
- Background
- What Has Been Done to Clean Up the Site?
- What Is the Current Site Status?
- Emergency Response and Removal
On related pages:
Background
The American Lead site is an area surrounding the former American Lead Facility, located at 2102 Hillside Ave. in Indianapolis. The property was used for industrial purposes dating back to at least the late 1800s. National Lead Industries conducted secondary lead smelting at the property from 1946 to 1965. Historic operations at the smelter contaminated the surrounding community with lead.
The site is located in the central part of Indianapolis in the historic Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood. EPA’s present cleanup boundaries were determined by sampling conducted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in 2015. The area includes a mixture of industrial, commercial, residential properties, including single-family homes, community centers, playgrounds, parks, churches, and schools.
What Has Been Done to Clean Up the Site?
EPA has completed removal of known lead-contaminated soil near the former American Lead facility. Since August 2016, EPA removed lead-contaminated soil at 101 properties, including a playground and daycare in the Martindale-Brightwood community.
What Is the Current Site Status?
EPA is continuing to sample residential yards in the Integrated Site Assessment Area for contamination to determine if additional cleanup related to the American Lead site is needed. The Integrated Site Assessment is an investigation that will help EPA determine if additional federal resources are needed for long-term cleanup.
Emergency Response and Removal
In August 2016, EPA approved an Action Memorandum to conduct a time-critical removal at residential properties near the former American Lead facility., EPA removed over 25,000 tons of lead-contaminated soil from the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood from 2016 to 2017.
Between 2005 and 2007, a time-critical removal action was conducted by NL Industries under EPA oversight. NL Industries removed lead-contaminated soil at 224 properties under an Administrative Order on Consent. The cleanup area for that removal action was determined by an airborne depositional model, and divided into two areas - the North and South TCRA.
Sampling has been conducted by EPA, IDEM, and community members in the Martindale-Brightwood community since the completion of the 2005-2007 time-critical removal action. The site was previously evaluated for the National Priorities List (NPL), but did not meet the criteria to be placed on the NPL.