View from Kellogg, Idaho, of the Bunker Hill Smelter emitting smoke.
Courtesy of University of Idaho Library
Upon the discovery of silver, lead and zinc in the Coeur d’Alene Basin nearly 140 years ago, Idaho’s Shoshone County and its surrounding area became known as Silver Valley. The establishment of Bunker Hill Mining and Smelting Complex in 1885 turned Silver Valley into one of the most prolific mining and processing sites in the United States. [1] However, the processes by which silver and lead ore were extracted and smelted contaminated the soil, water and air and exposed miners and area residents to dangerously high levels of heavy metals. For decades, waste piles from the complex’s production dumped tons of toxic lead into the 1,500-square-mile radius of what is now called the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. The waste polluted the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River floodplain, which further damaged local soil and poisoned groundwater and surface water. In addition to the solid waste, the smelting process emitted lead into the air within the Silver Valley, posing serious health risks in the affected radius. [2]
These damages to the local environment and health risks imposed on Silver Valley residents did not go unnoticed. As early as 1899, farmers complained that the runoff pollution was killing their grass-grazing livestock. When their complaints were ignored, the farmers pushed for a court injunction to halt mining operations. They also brought a suit against Bunker Hill and other mining companies to pay for damages to property and livestock. Bunker Hill built a dam and tailings pond to control runoff debris in order to counter the farmers’ suit, but these efforts weren’t fully effective. By 1910, the U.S. District Court gave each farmer a mere dollar for the damages, and the company resumed operations. [1] Seven years after this incident, Bunker Hill constructed the lead smelter which proved to be incredibly lucrative for the company but ultimately increased the level of lead in the air. When confronted about the noxious smog, the concerns of the Silver Valley community were first dismissed then only slightly addressed with the installation of a baghouse which was fitted over the smelter to catch smoke. [1] For decades following the addition of the smelter, health authorities reported on the growing threat of lead pollution as Bunker Hill continued production. It wasn’t until 1974, when two children from Kellogg were hospitalized with lead poisoning, that state and local officials finally began to tackle the nearly century-old problem. [3]
In 1978, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began addressing issues of industrial pollution and set a standard for how much lead in the air would be considered acceptable. With the new standard, companies were expected to emit 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter or less of lead in ambient air. The Bunker Hill Complex was producing 5.0 micrograms per cubic meter or more of lead in the ambient air of Silver Valley. Even after spending over $20 million on pollution control, Bunker Hill was unable to comply with the new standard. Until its complete shutdown in 1982, Bunker Hill battled with the EPA and U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) over the new regulations that were being put in place to protect communities like Silver Valley. [4] A year later, the EPA established the Bunker Hill Superfund Site, also known as the Coeur d’Alene Basin Cleanup, to facilitate environmental remediation of the area. Through coordinated efforts by federal, state, tribal, industrial and local groups, 7,000 public, private and recreational greenspaces have been cleaned, clean drinking water has been restored, and former mining and mill sites have been rehabilitated. These efforts are still underway in the Silver Valley area, continuing to increase quality of life for residents and encouraging the return of wildlife. [5]
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