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RECORD NUMBER: 197 OF 303

Main Title Leaded : the poisoning of Idaho's Silver Valley /
Author Mix, Michael C.
Publisher Oregon State University Press,
Year Published 2016
OCLC Number 946905491
ISBN 9780870718755; 0870718754
Subjects Lead--Environmental aspects--Idaho--Coeur d'Alene Mining District ; Silver mines and mining--Environmental aspects--Idaho--Coeur d'Alene Mining District ; Lead--Health aspects--Idaho--Coeur d'Alene Mining District ; Environmental law--United States ; Coeur d'Alene Mining District (Idaho)--Environmental conditions ; Lead--adverse effects ; Environmental Pollution--history ; Mining--history ; Environmental Exposure--history ; Lead Poisoning--history ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; Ecology
Holdings
Library Call Number Additional Info Location Last
Modified
Checkout
Status
ESAM  TD196.L4M59 2016 Region 10 Library/Seattle,WA 10/06/2021 STATUS
Collation xvi, 260 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm
Notes
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents Notes
The early history of the Coeur D'Alene Mining District -- Pollution, lawsuits, and environmental and human health effects -- The war years, labor, and early environmental laws -- Transitions in environmental laws and the Coeur D'Alene Mining District -- A lead poisoning epidemic of Silver Valley children -- The consequences of federal environmental and workplace standards -- Last years of the Bunker Hill Company -- Aftermath of the Bunker Hill closure. Leaded is a timely and deeply researched account of one of the largest environmental disasters in western US history. It examines the origin, evolution, and causes of the harmful environmental and human health effects caused by mining operations in Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Mining District—the (3z(BSilver Valley(3y(B—from 1885 to 1981. During that period, district mines produced over $5 billion worth of lead, silver, and zinc. The Bunker Hill Company dominated business and community activities in the district as owners and operators of the largest mine, lead smelter, and zinc plant.During the first half of the twentieth century, industrial mining operations caused severe environmental damage to area waterways and lands from releases of sulfur gases, lead, and other toxic metals. Damaging human health effects were evident soon after the smelter opened in 1917, when Bunker Hill workers suffered from lead poisoning. Despite the obvious devastation, due to the influence of the mine and lead industry in state and federal politics, as well as scientific uncertainties about pollution effects, no effective federal laws regulating mining and smelting operations were passed until the 1970s.In 1974, uncontrolled Bunker Hill lead smelter emissions led to the worst community lead exposure problem in the United States and resulted in a widespread lead poisoning epidemic of Silver Valley children. In response, the Environmental Protection Agency ultimately mandated federal air lead standards. At the same time, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health passed national standards reducing allowable occupational lead exposures. Bunker Hill could not meet the new standards, which was a major factor in forcing the company to close, leaving behind a contaminated geographic area that was classified at the time as the largest Superfund site in the United States.Leaded will resonate with anyone who is concerned about the long-term effects of industrial pollution, as well as students of environmental history, western US history, mining history, environmental ethics, and environmental law.