Old Lead Belt

A photo of a yard the Environmental Protection Agency is removing lead pollution from.

Jefferson County, EPA To Test More Residential Yards For Lead Contamination

Eli Chen

Jefferson County health officials plan this year to increase testing for lead contamination in residential areas near where companies mined for heavy…

Remnants of a former mining operation near Fredericktown at the Madison County Mines Superfund site in May 2017.

Health, Science & Environment

Former Mine In Missouri’s Old Lead Belt To Be Reopened For Cobalt Mining

Eli Chen

Missouri Mining Inc. plans to create up to 700 jobs by reopening a mine at a Superfund site in Fredericktown, Missouri. The company wants to extract…

Bonne Terre resident Steven Anderson sits in a kayak in the Big River next to a beach covered in legacy mine waste.

Health, Science & Environment

Recreationists, environmentalists wary of EPA's cleanup plan for rivers in Old Lead Belt

Eli Chen

About 55 miles southwest of St. Louis, Steven Anderson — who owns an outfitter called Cherokee Landing in Bonne Terre — routinely takes his customers to…

A home in St. Francois County undergoing remediation for lead contamination

Health, Science & Environment

EPA tests more homes in St. Francois County for lead pollution

Eli Chen

The number of homes contaminated by Missouri’s historic lead mining continues to grow as Environmental Protection Agency officials test more residential…

Tree plantings on a former lead mining site in Fredericktown, Missouri, located about 90 miles south of St. Louis.

Health, Science & Environment

Environmental regulators are trying to turn a former lead mining site back into a forest

Eli Chen

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources are restoring a portion of Missouri's Old Lead Belt back into a…