East Chicago, Indiana is a small industrial city wedged between Gary and the Illinois border along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. It’s also home to the USS Lead Superfund site — one of the most contaminated residential areas in the country.
For decades, lead smelting and refining operations deposited heavy metals into the soil and groundwater of neighborhoods where families lived, children played, and people drew their water. The contamination here isn’t theoretical or trace-level. It’s severe, and it has displaced entire communities.
The USS Lead Superfund Site
The USS Lead site covers approximately 79 acres in the western portion of East Chicago, encompassing the former locations of USS Lead Refinery, Anaconda Lead Products, and other industrial operations that processed lead from the early 1900s through the 1980s.
The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 2009 after testing revealed alarming levels of lead and arsenic in residential soil. Some samples showed lead at more than 100 times the EPA’s residential screening level.
The contamination isn’t just surface-level. Lead and arsenic have leached into shallow groundwater beneath the site. While the city’s municipal water comes from a different source (Lake Michigan via the Indiana American Water system), private wells and subsurface contamination remain concerns for exposure pathways.
The West Calumet Housing Complex
The most devastating chapter of East Chicago’s contamination story centers on the West Calumet Housing Complex — a public housing development built directly on top of contaminated land from the former lead smelting operations.
In 2016, the EPA announced that soil testing at West Calumet showed lead levels so high that residents needed to relocate. Families with children — including many who had lived there for years — were told their homes sat on poisoned ground.
Blood lead testing of children in the area found elevated levels consistent with chronic exposure. Lead exposure in children causes irreversible neurological damage, reduced IQ, behavioral problems, and developmental delays. There is no safe level of lead exposure for children.
The East Chicago Housing Authority ultimately relocated more than 1,000 residents from the complex. The buildings were demolished as part of the cleanup process.
Arsenic: The Other Contaminant
While lead gets most of the attention, arsenic contamination at the USS Lead site is also severe. Arsenic is a byproduct of lead smelting and was found in soil and groundwater at the site at levels well above EPA screening levels.
Chronic arsenic exposure through drinking water or soil contact is associated with increased risk of skin, lung, bladder, and kidney cancers. It can also cause cardiovascular disease and diabetes at elevated exposure levels.
The EPA’s maximum contaminant level for arsenic in drinking water is 10 parts per billion (ppb). While East Chicago’s municipal supply from Lake Michigan isn’t the issue, any remaining private wells or shallow groundwater use in the area poses a risk.
Municipal Water: A Different Story
It’s important to separate the soil and groundwater contamination from what comes out of East Chicago taps. The city receives treated water from Indiana American Water, which draws from Lake Michigan and treats it at a facility in Gary.
Lake Michigan water is generally high quality as a source, and Indiana American Water’s treatment process addresses common contaminants. The system has maintained compliance with federal drinking water standards.
However, the distribution infrastructure tells a different story. East Chicago’s water mains and service lines are old. Like many industrial cities in the Midwest, the system was built during an era when lead service lines were standard. The EPA’s revised Lead and Copper Rule requires utilities to inventory and replace lead service lines, and East Chicago has a significant number to address.
Lead in drinking water typically comes not from the source water itself, but from the pipes that deliver it. Corrosion of lead service lines and lead solder in household plumbing can release lead into tap water, particularly in homes with older plumbing and in conditions where water sits stagnant in pipes.
Environmental Justice
East Chicago is a predominantly low-income community of color. The population is roughly 90% Black and Hispanic, with a median household income well below the national average. The pattern is painfully familiar: polluting industries were sited in communities with less political power to resist them, and the health consequences fell disproportionately on residents who had the fewest resources to protect themselves.
The EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening Tool (EJScreen) flags East Chicago as one of the highest-impact areas in the country across multiple environmental and demographic indicators.
The delays in identifying and addressing the contamination — decades passed between the closure of smelting operations and the EPA’s intervention — compound the injustice. Residents were exposed for years before anyone told them their soil was toxic.
Cleanup Progress
The EPA has divided the USS Lead site into multiple zones for cleanup. Work has included:
- Residential soil removal in the most contaminated areas, with clean soil replacement
- Demolition of the West Calumet Housing Complex and soil remediation of the site
- Installation of monitoring wells to track groundwater contamination
- Blood lead screening programs for residents, particularly children
- Relocation assistance for families in the most affected areas
The cleanup is ongoing and expected to take years to complete. The responsible parties — including USS Lead, Anaconda, and their corporate successors — have been involved in funding portions of the work, though the EPA has also committed Superfund resources.
What Residents Can Do
If you’re on East Chicago’s municipal water system (Indiana American Water), your source water from Lake Michigan is treated and monitored. But given the age of the city’s infrastructure:
Run your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking, especially first thing in the morning. This flushes water that’s been sitting in contact with pipes.
Use cold water for cooking and drinking. Hot water dissolves lead from pipes more readily than cold.
Consider a point-of-use filter certified for lead reduction (NSF/ANSI 53). Under-sink reverse osmosis systems provide the highest level of protection against lead, arsenic, and other metals.
If you have a private well anywhere in the East Chicago area, do not use it without testing. Shallow groundwater contamination from the Superfund site is well-documented.
Get your children’s blood tested. East Chicago’s health department and the EPA have supported blood lead screening programs. Early identification of elevated blood lead allows for intervention.
If you’re concerned about your water quality, a certified water treatment professional can test your water and advise on solutions tailored to your home’s plumbing and your area’s contamination profile.
A City Still Recovering
East Chicago’s contamination story isn’t over. The Superfund cleanup continues, lead service line replacement is a multi-year project, and the health effects of decades of exposure will persist in the community for generations.
What happened here is a case study in how industrial contamination, environmental injustice, and infrastructure neglect intersect. The city’s residents didn’t cause these problems — but they’re the ones living with the consequences.
Sources: EPA USS Lead Superfund site profile, EPA ECHO database, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, ATSDR health assessments, Indiana American Water consumer confidence reports, EPA EJScreen.