The Environmental Legacy of Smelting in Oklahoma

The smelter industry flourished in Oklahoma in the early 1900s long before the advent of environmental regulations.

Oklahoma was rich in stores of lead and zinc ores and natural gas. Zinc and other metals were recovered from ore by a process of distillation. This required vast supplies of cheap fuel, and the smelters would drill natural gas wells to provide the needed fuel. Zinc smelters were especially prevalent as World War I raged across Europe and zinc was in high demand to use as a coating for armaments.

Eagle Picher furnace near Henryetta, Oklahoma, 1940. Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries

Zinc smelters in Oklahoma used horizontal retort processes. Recovering the zinc involved placing prepared ore in long cylindrical vessels made of fired clay (retorts) and heating the retorts in furnaces. The retorts were open on one end allowing the vaporized zinc to escape into clay condenser vessels where it cooled into a liquid. The liquid zinc was then poured into molds to produce slab zinc.

Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries

This type of smelting operation was labor intensive; one smelter might employ 600 men. The operations produced huge amounts of wastes consisting of slag, broken retorts and condensers. Smelter smokestacks released vast amounts of acidic smoke containing heavy metals, spreading contamination through the air in and around the smelter. 

Kusa, Okmulgee County, Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries

Eventually improved methods for smelting were developed and the horizontal retort smelter became obsolete.

Foundations and waste at the former Kusa Smelter

The demand for zinc decreased as WW I ended and many of its uses were replaced as technology advanced. The old smelters closed, leaving vast amounts of wastes behind. Through the years, communities reused the wastes as backfill and as “gravel” on roads and driveways. Unfortunately, the “gravel” was contaminated with high concentrations of heavy metals.

Smelting concentrated other metals in the ore into the waste making them more likely to contaminate the environment. The heavy metals commonly found at smelter sites are lead, cadmium, arsenic, and zinc.

Waste material left at the Tulsa Fuel & Manufacturing Smelter in Collinsville, OK

Interactive map of Oklahoma smelter sites (click on a dot and a pop-up window will open)

Most zinc smelters in Oklahoma had closed by the 1930s. The last smelter closed in 1989. DEQ has investigated the former smelters in the state and has been working with the EPA, local municipalities, and responsible companies to clean up these sites. 


Tulsa Fuel and Manufacturing Site, Collinsville, Tulsa County

Tulsa Fuel and Manufacturing Superfund Site

Onsite pond retention made of smelter retorts.

The Tulsa Fuel and Manufacturing site is an abandoned 60-acre former zinc smelter, located in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. The former zinc smelter was active from 1914 through 1925 and helped to meet the demands for zinc during World War I. While active, large amounts of ore were stored on site.

The site was added to EPA’s National Priorities List under the Superfund program in 1999. DEQ and EPA completed cleanup in Fall 2016. Approximately, 186,000 cubic yards of waste materials were consolidated and capped (i.e. smelter wastes, building debris, ash, bricks, contaminated soil, and contaminated sediment).

Beehives at Tulsa Fuel

DEQ continues routine vegetation maintenance and ground water sampling at the site.

The Shadow Mountain Honey Company, in partnership with Ide’s Gary Avenue Gold Honey, uses the site to house about 30 hives. The companies plan to use the site to relocate more swarms in the future, helping to sustain the area’s pollinator population.

In 2019, the site was awarded  EPA’s Greenovations  award. The award honors Superfund site partners in EPA Region 6 who have shown outstanding efforts in site reuse that emphasize sustainability, green remediation, and alternative and renewable energy use. 


Kusa Smelter Site, Dewar, Okmulgee County

Kusa Semlter

Kusa Smelter before cleanup work started

Kusa Smelter Capped Area

The 47-acre horizontal retort smelter processed zinc ore from approximately 1915 to 1928. US Zinc Company, a former subsidiary of ASARCO, Inc., leased and operated zinc-smelting facilities in Kusa during the early 1920s. Investigations revealed high concentrations of lead, zinc, and arsenic in the soils. DEQ has completed consolidation and capping of waste material and continues to work on establishing vegetation. 


DEQ continues to pursue cleanup of smelter contamination that threatens the environment. Please contact the Land Protection Division by calling 405-702-5100 or vising our  website  for more information. 

Land Protection Division

The Environmental Legacy of Smelting in Oklahoma

Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality

Eagle Picher furnace near Henryetta, Oklahoma, 1940. Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries

Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries

Kusa, Okmulgee County, Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries

Foundations and waste at the former Kusa Smelter

Waste material left at the Tulsa Fuel & Manufacturing Smelter in Collinsville, OK

Onsite pond retention made of smelter retorts.

Beehives at Tulsa Fuel

Kusa Smelter before cleanup work started

Kusa Smelter Capped Area