What did Asarco smelter do?
For almost 100 years, the Asarco Company operated a copper smelter in Tacoma. Air pollution from the smelter settled on the surface soil of more than 1,000 square miles of the Puget Sound basin. Arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals are still in the soil as a result of this pollution.
Why was Asarco demolished?
Asarco Smokestacks Are Demolished as Part of Effort to Clean Up and Redevelop Industrial Site. Two concrete smokestacks in El Paso, Texas, regarded as community landmarks, were demolished over the weekend amid concerns about the site’s environmental impact.
When did the Asarco smelter close?
1985
ASARCO operated the smelter at the Ruston site until its closure in 1985 due to weak copper markets and a need for pollution control. It had been one of Pierce County’s largest employers.
When was Asarco demolished?
Asarco’s smelting plant in El Paso, Texas, was suspended in 1999 and then demolished on April 13, 2013. Before closing, the plant produced 1,000,000,000 pounds (450,000,000 kg) of anodes each year.
Where was the Tacoma smelter located?
Ruston
The Tacoma Smelter, on the shores of Commencement Bay in Ruston, near Tacoma, Washington, began operating on September 12, 1889 to extract lead from melted metal ores.
What is an arsenic plume?
The plume is a 1,000 square mile area of arsenic and lead soil contamination from the former Asarco smelter in Tacoma. Levels of lead and arsenic soil contamination can be different from place to place. It is based on: Distance from the smelter.
What did ASARCO do?
The American Smelting and Refining Company, known as Asarco, will pay a record $1.79 billion to settle claims for hazardous waste pollution at 80 sites in as many as 20 states. Cleanup will begin this year on one of Asarco’s most notorious properties — the copper smelter in El Paso, Texas.
What did ASARCO do in El Paso?
During its 100 years of operation in El Paso, ASARCO’s three stacks smelted lead, zinc, arsenic, cadmium and copper. Those smokestacks were taken down in half a minute and took years to build and grow, not only here in El Paso, but internationally.
What was the problem with Asarco?
A Toxic Century: Mining Giant Asarco Must Clean Up Mess : NPR. A Toxic Century: Mining Giant Asarco Must Clean Up Mess After years of polluting and contaminating the environment, the American Smelting and Refining Company’s notorious copper-smelting plant in El Paso, Texas, will be cleaned up this year.
Who bought Asarco?
Last month, a U.S. federal judge approved a more than $2 billion plan by the Mexican miner to take control of Asarco. Grupo Mexico first acquired Asarco in a leveraged buyout in 1999, but lost board control of the subsidiary due to the bankruptcy.
What is a smelter plume?
The plume is a 1,000 square mile area of arsenic and lead soil contamination from the former Asarco smelter in Tacoma. Levels of lead and arsenic soil contamination can be different from place to place. It is based on: Distance from the smelter. Wind currents.
What was Asarco El Paso?
ASARCO (American Smelting and Refining Company) had a smelter in El Paso that was founded in the 1880s by Robert Towne and that became part of ASARCO in 1889. The facility was a custom smelter that processed several different metals from ore that came from diverse sites.