The 80-acre East Helena site, in East Helena, Lewis and Clark County, Montana, is a primary lead smelting facility that has been in operation since 1888. Prickly Pear Creek flows near the site and has been found to contain elevated levels of arsenic and lead. A 1984 remedial investigation identified elevated levels of metal contamination in soil, livestock, plants, and ground and surface waters with the sources of onsite contamination being primary and fugitive emissions and seepage from process ponds and process fluid circuitry. The primary contaminants of concern in the process ponds are metals including arsenic and lead. The selected remedial action for this site includes excavating and smelting 55,150 cubic yards of soil and/or sediment from all four process ponds and multi-media monitoring after individual remedial activities are implemented at three of the process pond areas.

"11/22/89." -- report documentation page [1] "November 1989" -- Cover and title page "PB90-220526." -- Cover "EPA/ROD/R08-90/027." "Office of Emergency and Remedial Response." -- Cover Titile from title page

"The 80-acre East Helena site, in East Helena, Lewis and Clark County, Montana, is a primary lead smelting facility that has been in operation since 1888. In 1927 the Anaconda Company constructed a plant adjacent to the lead smelter to recover zinc from the smelter's waste slag. Asarco the owner and operator of the smelter facility, purchased the zinc plant in 1972 and operated the plant until 1982. Prickly Pear Creek flows near the site and has been found to contain elevated levels of arsenic and lead. air quality and soil investigations also revealed the presence of contaminated soil in East Helena residential areas, contaminated process ponds over shallow ground water near the plant, and elevated blood-lead levels in school children. A 1984 remedial investigation identified elevated levels of metal contamination in soil, livestock, plants, and ground and surface waters with the sources of onsite contamination being primary and fugitive emissions and seepage from process ponds and process fluid circuitry. The site has been segregated into five operable units, consisting of the process ponds, the ground water, the surface water, the slag pile, and the ore storage areas. This ROD addresses four process fluid ponds which are used for process water retention and include the Lower Lake, the speiss granulating pond and pit, the acid plant water treatment facility, and the former Thornock Lake, now dry. The primary contaminants of concern in the process ponds are metals including arsenic and lead..." Abstract page [1]