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American Lead

The former American Lead facility, located at 2102 Hillside Avenue in Indianapolis, was used for industrial purposes dating back to at least the late 1800s. National Lead Industries (NL Industries) conducted secondary lead smelting at the property from 1946 to 1965. Historic operations at the smelter contaminated the surface soil of the surrounding community with lead.

The American Lead Environmental Advisory Area is located on the northeast side of downtown Indianapolis and is made up of industrial, commercial and residential properties, community centers, playgrounds, parks, churches, and schools. The boundaries for the American Lead Environmental Advisory Area are based on sample results and by using a computer model that predicts where lead would most likely be. See Figure 1.

Image Map of American Lead Environmental Advisory Area
Figure 1: American Lead Environmental Advisory Area

Interactive Map

IDEM has developed an interactive GIS map to place your property within or outside the boundaries of the Environmental Advisory Area. Search your address using the information in the upper left corner of the page.

History

As early as 1986, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the Marion County Public Health Department (MCPHD), and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) have been collecting soil samples and assessing the former American Lead site and surrounding properties.

Between 2005 and 2007, NL Industries removed and disposed of soil contaminated with lead above U.S. EPA’s cleanup level. Soil was removed to a depth of one foot in general residential areas and up to two feet in gardens and play areas. If sampling after removal showed that the soil remained above the action level, an orange snow fence marker was installed to identify the presence of impacted soil below the marker. NL Industries removed lead-contaminated soil at 224 properties.

In August 2016, U.S. EPA conducted another removal action at residential properties surrounding the former American Lead site. U.S. EPA removed over 25,000 tons of lead-contaminated soil from an additional 103 properties. Soil was generally removed to a depth of two feet.  An orange snow fence marker was installed to identify the bottom of the excavation.  Between the two removal actions, markers were installed at an additional 103 properties.

Since the soil removals, IDEM continues to work with federal, state and local site stakeholders to raise citizen awareness of remaining lead soil contamination in the American Lead Environmental Advisory Area. Activities supporting those efforts included:

  • Development and mailing of a lead awareness informational brochure [PDF] to property owners within the American Lead Environmental Advisory Area
  • Creation of an American Lead informational website, a property parcel database, and an interactive public map containing multiple search functions to determine if a parcel is located within the American Lead Advisory Area
  • Responding to property status information requests by property owners/renters.

Additionally, in 2023, IDEM began a re-assessment of lead in soils at properties located within the American Lead Environmental Advisory Area. Tasks associated with these re-assessments include:

  • The issuance of a press release outlining IDEM’s upcoming field work,
  • Collection of surface soil field screening data from right-of-ways near properties where no data is currently available
  • Collection of surface soil field screening data from residential yards, when requested, and with a signed permission to sample form

Property Status

The map depicts the American Lead Environmental Advisory Area as an area where there is potential environmental contamination. IDEM recommends confirming the status of every parcel before digging to learn if precautionary actions are necessary. Digging restrictions, specific to each parcel within the American Lead Environmental Advisory Area, may be recommended to protect human health.

Not every property within the American Lead Environmental Advisory Area was remediated. One of the following may have occurred:

  1. The property was not tested because the property owner at the time did not grant access, or the property was outside of the investigation boundaries;
  2. The soil from the property was tested and the lead concentrations were below the cleanup level;
  3. The soil from the property was tested and lead impacted soil was removed completely and replaced with clean soil; or
  4. The soil from the property was tested and the contaminated soil was removed to a certain depth, orange snow fencing was placed, and clean soil was added up to ground level.

In order to determine the status of your property, please contact IDEM at americanlead@idem.IN.gov.

Disclaimer: IDEM may be able to assist with testing properties that have not previously been tested. However, at present, there is no funding to conduct additional removal activities.

Contact Information

Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Lynette Schrowe
Technical Environmental Specialist
Institutional Controls Group
(317) 234-8622
institutionalcontrols@idem.IN.gov

Additional Resources

Indianapolis

City of Indianapolis
Principal Program Manager - Brownfield Redevelopment Program
Department of Metropolitan Development
(317) 327-5155
DMDCommunications@indy.gov

Marion County

Marion County Public Health Department
Karla Johnson, Administrator
Healthy Homes, Environmental Consumer Management & Senior Care Department
(317) 221-2111

Blood Lead Testing
Marion County Public Health Department offers a free weekly walk-in clinic for blood lead testing every Thursday at 3901 Meadows Drive from noon to 5:00 p.m. No appointment needed.  
For additional information or to schedule blood lead testing outside of the regular Thursday walk-in clinic times, please call (317) 221-2111.

U.S. EPA

U.S. EPA, Region 5
Jason Sewell, On Scene Coordinator
(317) 517-6987
sewell.jason@epa.gov

Ruth Muhtsun, Community Involvement Coordinator
(312) 886-6595
muhtsun.ruth@epa.gov

Fact Sheets

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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