Background
On this page:
History
While Pueblo has a long industrial past, the Superfund site focuses on the impact from one historic smelter. Pueblo was once home to five ore smelters and is still home to one active steel mill, which is not a part of the Superfund site. The historic Colorado Smelter was a silver and lead smelter that operated in the Eilers and Bessemer neighborhoods from 1883 to 1908. The Colorado Smelter historical footprint is bound by Santa Fe Avenue to the east, Mesa Avenue to the south, Interstate 25 to the west, and the Arkansas River to the north. The Bessemer, Eilers, and Grove neighborhoods are adjacent to the former Colorado Smelter. Some slag (waste) from the facility was used as track ballast for the D&RG track constructed between Florence and Cañon City. In 1923, bricks from the blast furnace smokestack were used to construct St. Mary School.
An employee found high levels of metals during an inspection at the Santa Fe Bridge Culvert. This led to a series of investigations in the early 1990s. In 2010, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) tested homes in the area. This study found elevated lead and arsenic levels in smelter slag and neighborhood soils. These metals pose a threat to current and future residents. EPA listed the site on the National Priorities List in December 2014. EPA then divided the site into two operable units (OUs), OU1 (Community Properties) and OU2 (Former Smelter Area).
From 2015 to the present day, EPA has been sampling homes in the area. Since 2016 and 2018, EPA tested and cleaned the soil and indoor dust at many homes in the area. EPA finished cleaning soil at homes under the current cleanup level in 2023. Sampling on the former smelter and surrounding areas will help EPA decide how to address contamination.
In July 2018, based on risk to residents in the study area, EPA requested increased funding for residential cleanup. Beginning in 2022, Colorado Smelter received up to $15 million annually for cleaning homes. That’s more than double the amount originally budgeted. As a result, EPA expects to finish cleaning homes four to six years faster. Approximately 850 homes qualify for cleanup.
There are approximately 2,030 homes and between 100-200 commercial properties in the study area. The study area covers an approximately half a mile from the former smelter’s tallest smokestack. Most homes are single-family detached homes, many with bare-soil yards. Ninety-five percent of the homes are pre-1978 (before the lead paint ban), so lead-based paint hazards may also be present. Since 2015, the Pueblo Health Department has helped identify and address lead-based paint hazards. They also test residents for lead exposure for free.
Timeline
- In the early 1990s an employee found high levels of metals during an inspection at the Santa Fe Bridge Culvert. A series of investigations resulted from this detection.
- In 2010, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment tested homes in the area.
- EPA listed the site on the National Priorities List in December 2014.
- EPA began sampling residential yards and the former smelter area in 2015.
- EPA began sampling indoor dust in homes in 2016.
- EPA performed time critical indoor dust removals in 2017.
- EPA issued the interim Record of Decision which selected a remedy for addressing elevated levels of indoor dust and exterior soils in 2017.
- EPA began cleaning sitewide indoor dust in 2018.
- EPA issues an Explanation of Significant Differences which finalized the site boundary and called for institutional controls in OU1 in 2023.
- EPA finished cleaning soil at homes under the current cleanup level in 2023.
- EPA finished cleaning indoor dust at homes under the current cleanup level in 2025.