Anaconda Co. Smelter - Anaconda, MT
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Tante.Hossi
Assisted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 46° 07.388 W 112° 55.877
12T E 350789 N 5109541
Anaconda Stack State Park is on the far eastern edge of the city of Anaconda, an extension of Fourth Street East. From the park one may get an overview of the Super Fund site.
Waymark Code: WMTN1H
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 12/15/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member lumbricus
Views: 7
Created From:
 [Deleted Waymark] - posted by T0SHEA

An Irishman born December 5, 1843 in county Caven, Ireland, Marcus Daly emigrated to the U.S. at the age of fifteen, going west at the age of 20 and finding work in the silver mines of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada. Here he met George Hearst who, among others, was to become a financial backer.

Eventually buying the Anaconda claim, a silver mine in Butte, with the backing of Hearst, the mine struck copper at 300 feet. Copper was just coming into use at the time as an electrical conductor and Daly immediately saw the value of building a nearby copper smelter. This he did, with the backing of Hearst, James Ben Ali Haggin, and Lloyd Tevis. The site of the present day city of Anaconda was chosen for the location of the smelter due to the availability of ample water and limestone for the smelting process.

While the first smelter was built by Daly, eventually it was twice replaced by larger and more efficient ones, each in a different location near the city. Daly died before the third smelter, the "Washoe Smelter" was completed. The Washoe Smelter, three miles east of the city, continued in operation until its closure in 1981. The smokestack, still the TALLEST - Brick Smokestack in the World, was saved from demolition and is now a National Historic Place.

Today the site of the Washoe Smelter has become a 300 square mile Super Fund site. Eighty years of storing arsenic, copper, lead and zinc laden slag in the open has produced a toxic area of polluted land, surface water and groundwater. Emissions from the 585 foot tall stack added even more toxic chemicals and elements to the landscape. The EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in September of 1983 and began work in 1987. Though there is much work remaining, much has been done at the site to date.

Coordinates are at Anaconda Stack State Park, the closest one may reasonalby get to the Super Fund site.

Following is an overview of work completed to date.

OU15, Mill Creek: The remedy, selected in 1987, included permanently relocating all Mill Creek residents, removing demolition debris and contaminated soils for later disposal, regrading and replanting areas disturbed by relocation/demolition activities, monitoring and maintaining the vegetation, and controlling access to the area. Construction of the remedy finished in late 1988. Operation and maintenance activities are ongoing.

OU11, Flue Dust: The remedy, selected in 1991, included stabilization of about 316,500 cubic yards of flue dust, placement of the treated materials in an engineered repository, long-term maintenance and monitoring, and institutional controls. The remedy required that the repository include a liner, leak detection and collection system, groundwater monitoring wells, and a cap. Construction of the remedy finished in September 1996. Operation and maintenance activities are ongoing.

OU7, Old Works/East Anaconda Development Area: The remedy, selected in 1994, included placement of engineered covers over waste, treatment of soils, surface water controls, upgrades or repairs to streambank levees, replacement or repairs to bridges, institutional controls, long-term monitoring and preservation of historic features. OU7 consists of six subareas. Construction is complete at five of the six areas. Construction at the sixth area, the Industrial Area, is nearly complete.

OU16, Community Soils: The remedy for residential soils, selected in 1996 and modified in 2013, included removal of arsenic-contaminated soils and replacement with clean soil. This remedy also called for the cleanup of future residential soils through institutional controls. The remedy for commercial/industrial areas and the active railroad area included placement of engineered covers. Construction of the remedy was finished in 2010. Operation and maintenance activities are ongoing.

The 2013 modification to the Community Soils remedy included cleanup of lead-contaminated residential soil, expanding the institutional controls program and development of an interior dust abatement program. Implementation of this remedy began in 2015 and is ongoing.

OU4, Anaconda Regional Water, Waste and Soil: The remedy, selected in 1998 and modified in 2011, included consolidation of miscellaneous waste materials, placement of engineered covers over waste management areas, treatment of contaminated soils, storm water controls and institutional controls, including the monitoring and regulation of domestic wells in groundwater areas. A Technical Impracticality Waiver for arsenic in groundwater has been applied to large areas of the site. The OU consists of 15 subareas. Remedial action is ongoing at most of the subareas. Over 10,000 acres have been remediated to date. Construction is expected to be completed over the next 10 years.
From the EPA


Photo goes Here
The Smokestack viewed from the park

ID: MTD093291656

Site Name: Anaconda Co. Smelter

Link to Site: [Web Link]

Additional Parking: Not Listed

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