The Environmental Protection Agency conducted a five-year review of Superior last week. Residents were interviewed and EPA officials explained their review process of ongoing protectiveness of Superior’s cleanup and soils displacement regulation at their office located in the Old School on Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Superior came to the attention of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in 2004 regarding public health and heavy metal contamination in the soil and water from the Iron Mountain Mine and Mill located 10 miles northeast of town.

Waste tailings from the mine, which was last owned by ASARCO, had washed down along the banks and floodplains of Flat Creek. (See update on Flat Creek, Page A3.)

Also, waste tailings were used as fill material in town for building foundations, driveways, Superior High School track and at the airport. A study done by the ATSDR determined that the “waste tailings may result in exposures that are a public health hazard. The tailings showed high arsenic and lead levels, as well as copper, mercury, zinc, cadmium, manganese and antimony and were of concern for residents, particularly children. Significant chemicals did not show up in Superior’s public water supply wells, nor at Flat Creek Spring,” according to their 2010 report.

The Iron Mountain Mine and Mill was discovered in 1888 where zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold were mined. There are approximately 400 homes in Superior and during the cleanup, contaminated soil was removed to a depth of 12 inches except in gardens, where 24 inches were removed, from driveways, yards, gardens, public right-of-ways for example along roads, the Superior High School track, and the county fairgrounds.

The five-year review is done on Superfund sites to make sure the cleanup continues to protect people and the environment. Officials inspect the sites and continue to keep the public informed about the cleanup process. They also collect information and publish their findings at www.epa.gov/superfund.

Several residents at the Wednesday meeting said they were happy with the cleanup efforts and thought the process was handled very well. The public turnout regarding the EPA and Superfund activities has not been very well attended and officials discussed ways they could reach Superior residents including ads in the local newspaper, social media, posters and word of mouth. There was also concern about real estate agents who may not be aware of the Superfund cleanup and potential home buyer’s not receiving proper paperwork.