Pueblo's Colorado Smelter Now Superfund Site

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — An old smelter in Pueblo is now a Superfund site, clearing the way for an eventual cleanup.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added the Colorado Smelter site to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites Thursday following a public comment period.

The smelter is located in a mixed-use neighborhood near downtown. High levels of lead and arsenic have been found there and high levels of lead were also found in the yards of some surrounding houses.

The EPA says listing the site will allow it to move forward with more extensive testing but cleanup is likely a few years away.

Meanwhile, the EPA is officially taking Denver's Asarco Globe Plant out of consideration for the list. It is being cleaned up and turned into a business park.

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