cleanup · Erie County
Lackawanna Incinerator Site
Lackawanna
A municipal incinerator operated beside Smokes Creek for more than half a century, leaving ash-rich soil with arsenic and lead across the plant grounds and parts of the creek corridor.
The documented story
What happened here?
The City of Lackawanna operated municipal incinerators at 2960 South Park Avenue from 1927 through 1980. The approximately 7.6-acre regulated site includes the former Department of Public Works incinerator grounds and an adjoining section of the north branch of Smokes Creek.
Incineration reduced the volume of the city's refuse but did not make its contaminants disappear. Ash and fill remained on the property, and investigation later identified elevated metals—principally lead and arsenic—in soil and ash deposits.
The incinerator story is geographically and legally separate from Bethlehem Steel. Its environmental footprint follows city waste handling, ash placement, the creek embankment, and nearby parcels rather than the former steelmaking complex.
Chronology in context
Turning points in the public record
1927–1980
Lackawanna operated municipal incinerators on South Park Avenue and generated ash later found across the plant grounds and creek corridor.
2005–2007
Brownfield-funded investigation documented soil conditions and supported Class 2 State Superfund listing.
2012–2017
Detailed investigation traced ash-related metals across the incinerator area, Smokes Creek corridor, and evaluated neighboring property, followed by a proposed remedy.
2019–2022
Remedial construction removed targeted material, installed protective cover, and transitioned the property into site management.
News record
Major news events
Coverage selected here marks a turning point in public awareness, policy, enforcement, employment, or cleanup. Links open at the original publisher or archive; WNYAtlas does not reproduce restricted articles or images.
A little-known Lackawanna dump enters public view
Regional environmental reporting highlighted the state investigation into lead and other contamination at the former South Park Avenue incinerator.
Investigative Post ↗Chemical guide
Chemicals named in this record
These links explain potential hazards and exposure pathways. A chemical named in a record does not establish that anyone was exposed or harmed.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- Arsenic and lead are the principal contaminants of concern; other metals tended to occur with elevated lead in ash-rich material.
- The remedial investigation reported its highest on-site lead result in an ash sample from the basement of the southern incinerator building.
- Investigation treated the former plant grounds and Smokes Creek corridor as distinct areas rather than assuming uniform contamination.
- A historical incinerator listing does not establish conditions at every nearby property or throughout Smokes Creek.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- Interim and final work addressed accessible ash and contaminated soil through targeted removal and protective cover.
- The remedy preserved controls for material remaining beneath managed surfaces.
- The 2022 site-management plan governs inspection, maintenance, future disturbance, and reporting requirements.
Then and now
The site today
The site remains Class 2 while the state remedial program proceeds.