Jul 22, 2015 2 min read

The state Department of Environmental Protection is partnering with Cyprus Amax Minerals Co. to implement a reclamation plan at the site of a former zinc smelting facility in Slovan.

DEP will pay 40 percent of the planning costs for Cyprus to test residents’ soil and homes, according to spokesman John Poister, but final costs won’t be known until the end of the project. According to DEP records, the 155-acre site is near Route 18 near Burgettstown.

“Zinc smelters were very dirty; a lot of pollutants,” he said. Sites tested positive for lead, cadmium and arsenic. Cyprus took over cleanup from American Zinc and Chemical Co., which operated in the Slovan area from 1917 to 1947.

“The company is almost to the halfway point of the entire project, but before they can do the actual cleanup, they have to design how they’ll remove any pollutants, the soil itself, and then take that material back to the host site and bury it, then cap the entire grounds,” Poister said, explaining the actual reclamation work is still years away.

“Soil testing has been completed and plans are being developed for implementing the soil remediation phase. We are currently evaluating contractor qualifications and bids and are working with DEP to apply for the permitting required for the soil remediation activities. Once the permits have been issued and soil replacement activities commence, we anticipate a period of approximately one year to complete the work,” said Cyprus spokesman Eric Kinneberg..