Public Notice: Cherokee Zinc-Weir Smelter National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund Site, Weir, Cherokee County, Kansas
Summary
Administrative Record Available for Time-Critical Removal Action
Contaminated Soils at Residential Yards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 has compiled the Administrative Record (AR) file for a Time-Critical Removal Action in Cherokee County, Kansas, at the Cherokee Zinc-Weir Smelter Residential Lead Superfund Site. The site is on the National Priorities List (NPL) to clean up lead-contaminated, priority residential properties.
The properties addressed through this removal action at the site are located in northeastern Cherokee County within the Tri-State Mining District, where more than a hundred years of mining, milling, and smelting lead and zinc ore caused widespread contamination. Detailed site information, including Administrative Records (ARs), is available on EPA’s Site Profile page.
ARs are official site files that contain technical documents about EPA’s response actions. EPA developed this AR to provide a clear understanding of the site actions. To view, please visit the link above (see Site Documents & Data, Administrative Records, and “Removal AR for Cherokee Zinc-Weir Smelter 2025”). If you do not have internet access, you can view these documents online at a local library, such as the following location:
Weir Public Library
111 E. Main Street
Weir, KS 66781
620-396-8899
Lead is the main contaminant of concern at this site. It is a toxic metal that is harmful if inhaled or ingested and can pose serious health risks, particularly to children under 7 years old, as well as pregnant women and nursing mothers. For information on how to protect your family from lead hazards, visit EPA’s website.
Annual Childhood Lead Testing: EPA encourages parents and caregivers to have children under 7 years old tested for elevated blood lead levels annually. The only way to know if your child has an elevated blood lead level is to have his or her blood tested; lead-poisoned children do not always look or act sick.
Talk to your pediatrician, general physician, Cherokee County Health Department(110 E. Walnut St., Columbus, KS 66725; 620-429-3087), or other health care professionals about testing your child and to arrange for blood lead screening.
Contact EPA: If you have questions about this Time-Critical Removal Action, please contact On-Scene Coordinator Scott Koertner at koertner.scott@epa.gov or 816-721-1713; or Community Involvement Coordinator Tanya Young at young.tanya@epa.gov or 816-799-3251.
U.S. EPA Region 7
11201 Renner Boulevard
Lenexa, KS 66219
Toll-free: 1-800-223-0425