Progress report

              If you would like more
information
about the investigation
and characterization of Kay
County roads and bridges or
wish to be added to the site
mailing list, please contact
Hal Cantwell
Hal.Cantwell@deq.ok.gov
Land Protection Division
Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 1677
Oklahoma City, OK 73101
405-702-5139
Newkirk Public Library
116 N. Maple St.
Newkirk, OK 74647
Phone: 580-362-3934
www.newkirkpl.okpls.org
Hours of Operation:
Mon - Thur 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Closed Sundays and most
holidays.
You can also visit the
Newkirk Public Library for
copies of documents related
to the environmental inves-tigations
of the Kay Coun-ty-
maintained roads and
bridges:
February 2013 Environmental Investigation of Kay County
Roads and Bridges Under Way
Under an agreement with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ),
Blackwell Zinc Company, Inc. (BZC) will be collecting samples of soil, sediment, sur-face
water, road dust, and smelter material from the county-maintained roads and
bridges. BZC has started environmental investigation work on areas of Kay County-maintained
roads and bridges where smelter material from the former BZC facility in
Blackwell is located. BZC will use the sampling results to evaluate potential risks to
human health and the environment from the smelter material and develop a range of op-tions
to clean up targeted areas. Read this progress report for background information
on the project, a summary of the environmental investigation work, and next steps.
Background
By the end of the 19th
century, natural gas had
become the primary fuel for
zinc smelting operations.
As the natural gas reserves
in Kansas and Missouri
diminished, zinc smelt-ing
operations migrated to
Oklahoma, an area still rich
in natural gas. From 1922
to 1974, BZC operated a
smelter on 160 acres of
land in the Town of
Blackwell. During opera-tion
of the smelter, byprod-ucts
referred to as smelter
material – including slag,
condensers, condenser
sand, broken retorts, and
brick – were generated.
Some of the smelter mate-rial
from the former BZC
facility was used by Kay
County as fill for construc-tion
and maintenance on
portions of county-main-tained
roads and bridges.
On October 17, 2012, DEQ
entered into an Consent
Agreement and Final Order
for Site Characterization
and Interim Remedial
Measures DEQ Case No.
12-211 with BZC and Kay
County.
BZC is to investigate the
areas of county roads and
bridges where smelter
material is present, and
then collect samples of soil,
sediment, surface water,
and road dust to identify
whether chemicals related
to smelter material – spe-cifically
arsenic, cadmium,
lead, and zinc – are present
and at what concentra-tions.
The agreement also
includes requirements to
assess the potential risks
to human health and the
environment from exposure
to smelter material, and de-velop
an appropriate range
of cleanup options.
Kay County will implement
an Interim Remedial Mea-sures
plan for identifica-tion
and removal of Visible
Smelter Material located in
and along county roads.
Kay County Creek with Visible
Smelter Material
Progress Report