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110-779: In 1983 the United States Environmental Protection Agency added this area to the National Priorities List as a Superfund site for investigation and cleanup. In 1991 the Coeur d'Alene Tribe filed suit against the mining companies for damages and cleanup costs; they were joined by the federal government in 1996 and the state of Idaho in 2011. Settlement was reached with the two major defendants in 2008 and 2011, with an agreement for funding of $ 263.4 million plus interest for cleanup and restoration of habitat. Phillip O'Rourke filed

220-622: A Colorado mine, and accidentally released over three million gallons of waste water into Cement Creek and the Animas River . In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization , cited research linking glyphosate , an ingredient of the weed killer Roundup manufactured by the chemical company Monsanto , to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma . In March 2017,

330-591: A 15-year cut of 32%, or 789 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. In 2019 it was voided and replaced by the Affordable Clean Energy rule under the Trump administration, and in 2022 its constitutionality was ruled out by the Supreme Court. In August 2015, the 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill occurred when EPA contractors examined the level of pollutants such as lead and arsenic in

440-433: A 20% cartridge strength would mean the stick was equal to an equivalent weight strength of 20% ANFO. "Military dynamite" (or M1 dynamite) is a dynamite substitute made with more stable ingredients than nitroglycerin. It contains 75% RDX , 15% TNT and 10 percent desensitizers and plasticizers. It has only 60 percent equivalent strength as commercial dynamite, but is much safer to store and handle. Various countries around

550-509: A capacity of over 4000 tons of zinc per month, and the cadmium plant was capable of 50,000 pounds per month. The huge Shea ore body was discovered in 1949, at the No. 17 level. In 1952, the company added a sulfuric acid plant with a 250-ton per day capacity. Most of this was sold to the J.R. Simplot Corp. for fertilizer use. In 1981, parent company Gulf Resources & Chemical Corp., which had acquired Bunker Hill in 1968, announced it would close

660-494: A controlled explosion set off from a distance using a fuse . In 1863 Nobel performed his first successful detonation of pure nitroglycerin, using a blasting cap made of a copper percussion cap and mercury fulminate . In 1864, Alfred Nobel filed patents for both the blasting cap and his method of synthesizing nitroglycerin, using sulfuric acid , nitric acid and glycerin. On 3 September 1864, while experimenting with nitroglycerin, Emil and several others were killed in an explosion at

770-627: A controlling interest. For years Bunker Hill, like other mines in the region, was the site of intense struggles between regional miners' unions and mine owners/managers. The owners of the Bunker Hill mine organized with other mine owners to form the Mine Owners Protective Association in order to fight the unions. The Bunker Hill owners repeatedly refused to meet or negotiate with union representatives, leading to regular community protests. On April 29, 1899, during

880-502: A dramatic move to the right, President Ronald Reagan in 1981 appointed Anne Gorsuch as EPA administrator. Gorsuch based her administration of EPA on the New Federalism approach of downsizing federal agencies by delegating their functions and services to the individual states. She believed that EPA was over-regulating business and that the agency was too large and not cost-effective. During her 22 months as agency head, she cut

990-416: A form of explosive that used ammonium nitrate as a substitute for the more costly nitroglycerin. Ammonium nitrate has only 85% of the chemical energy of nitroglycerin. It is rated by either "weight strength" (the amount of ammonium nitrate in the medium) or "cartridge strength" (the potential explosive strength generated by an amount of explosive of a certain density and grain size used in comparison to

1100-499: A grubstake to Noah Kellogg. Noah Kellogg subsequently leased the claim to Jim Wardner, who went on to found the town of Wardner, Idaho on 4 April 1886. Milled ore was initially shipped by wagon to Kingston, Idaho , then by the steamship The Coeur d' Alene to Coeur d' Alene, Idaho , then by wagon to Rathdrum, Idaho , and finally loaded onto the Northern Pacific Railroad . Later, Daniel Chase Corbin built

1210-620: A joint House–Senate colloquium was convened by the chairmen of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Senator Henry M. Jackson , and the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, Representative George P. Miller , to discuss the need for and means of implementing a national environmental policy. Congress enacted the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the law

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1320-612: A national outcry and criminal charges against major steel companies. The US Justice Department in late 1970 began pollution control litigation in cooperation with the new EPA. Congress enacted the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, better known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA established a national framework for addressing water quality, including mandatory pollution control standards, to be implemented by

1430-511: A public record, making it controversial and difficult to rescind. So they did not open it; rather, they called Johnson and asked him to take back the draft. Johnson rescinded the draft; in July 2008, he issued a new version which did not state that global warming was danger to public welfare. Burnett resigned in protest. In April 2008, the Union of Concerned Scientists said that more than half of

1540-516: A safe alternative to black powder and nitroglycerin. Nobel tightly controlled the patents, and unlicensed duplicating companies were quickly shut down. A few American businessmen got around the patent by using absorbents other than diatomaceous earth, such as resin. Nobel originally sold dynamite as "Nobel's Blasting Powder" and later changed the name to dynamite, from the Ancient Greek word dýnamis ( δύναμις ), meaning "power". Dynamite

1650-591: A second term. As a condition for accepting his appointment, Ruckleshaus obtained autonomy from the White House in appointing his senior management team. He then appointed experienced competent professionals to the top management positions, and worked to restore public confidence in the agency. Lee M. Thomas succeeded Ruckelshaus as administrator in 1985. In 1986 Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act , which authorized

1760-757: A senior official at the Environmental Protection Agency had worked to quash a review of Roundup's main ingredient, glyphosate, that was to have been conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services ." The records show that Monsanto was able to prepare "a public relations assault" on the finding after they were alerted to the determination by Jess Rowland , the head of the EPA's cancer assessment review committee at that time, months in advance. Emails also showed that Rowland "had promised to beat back an effort by

1870-515: A series of newspaper articles published in 1929, the Idaho State legislature formed the Coeur d'Alene River and Lake Commission in 1931. The commission was tasked with eliminating mine waste contaminating the Coeur d'Alene River and entering Lake Coeur d'Alene, a source of drinking water for Harrison, Idaho , and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho . The commission did determine mine tailings were the cause of

1980-580: A total of fourteen states had joined the suit—the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the EPA regulations violated the Clean Air Act. In response, EPA announced plans to propose such standards to replace the vacated Clean Air Mercury Rule, and did so on March 16, 2011. In July 2005 there was a delay in the issuance of an EPA report showing that auto companies were using loopholes to produce less fuel-efficient cars. The report

2090-552: A union demonstration, a group of workers hijacked a Northern Pacific train in Burke, Idaho and took it to Wardner. After a firefight with the Bunker Hill security guards, they dynamited the Bunker Hill and Sullivan ore concentrator, which was valued at $ 250,000. A new and more efficient mill, with greater capacity, was in operation within 3 months. In 1903, Washington Water and Power completed building over 80 miles of electrical transmission line between Spokane Falls and Burke, and

2200-539: Is a second generation castable explosive adopted by the military, while dynamite, in contrast, has never been popular in warfare because it degenerates quickly under severe conditions and can be detonated by either fire or a wayward bullet. The German armed forces adopted TNT as a filling for artillery shells in 1902, some 40 years after the invention of dynamite, which is a first generation phlegmatized explosive primarily intended for civilian earthmoving. TNT has never been popular or widespread in civilian earthmoving, as it

2310-509: Is considerably more expensive and less powerful by weight than dynamite, as well as being slower to mix and pack into boreholes. TNT's primary asset is its remarkable insensitivity and stability: it is waterproof and incapable of detonating without the extreme shock and heat provided by a blasting cap (or a sympathetic detonation ); this stability also allows it to be melted at 81 °C (178 °F), poured into high explosive shells and allowed to re-solidify, with no extra danger or change in

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2420-409: Is dropped from different heights until detonation is achieved. With a hammer of 2 kg, mercury fulminate detonates with a drop distance of 1 to 2 cm, nitroglycerin with 4 to 5 cm, dynamite with 15 to 30 cm, and ammoniacal explosives with 40 to 50 cm. For several decades beginning in the 1940s, the largest producer of dynamite in the world was the Union of South Africa . There

2530-431: Is usually rated by "weight strength" (the amount of nitroglycerin it contains), usually from 20% to 60%. For example, 40% dynamite is composed of 40% nitroglycerin and 60% "dope" (the absorbent storage medium mixed with the stabilizer and any additives). The maximum shelf life of nitroglycerin-based dynamite is recommended as one year from the date of manufacture under good storage conditions. Over time, regardless of

2640-404: Is usually sold in the form of cardboard cylinders about 200 mm (8 in) long and about 32 mm ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) in diameter, with a mass of about 190 grams ( 1 ⁄ 2 troy pound). A stick of dynamite thus produced contains roughly 1 MJ ( megajoule ) of energy. Other sizes also exist, rated by either portion (Quarter-Stick or Half-Stick) or by weight. Dynamite

2750-534: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 22% of the children within one mile of the smelter had lead poisoning, more than 80 micrograms of lead per 0.1 liter of blood, and almost all had more than 40. The Shoshone County Lead Health Project reported in 1975, that 45 children had lead poisoning, with one child having the highest blood lead level ever recorded. Children living in nearby areas began displaying very high blood lead levels . Approximately 26% of

2860-493: The Coeur d'Alene National Forest . Yet the company continued to purchase pollution easements , use its political clout with the government, and tell the public that pollution was the cost of economic and employment benefits. During the 1970s, the Idaho Department of Highways noted that bridges around Kellogg corroded faster. A fire on 3 Sept. 1973, damaged 2 of the 7 sections in the smelter baghouse. The baghouse

2970-524: The Council on Environmental Quality and Atomic Energy Commission . Upon its creation, EPA inherited 84 sites spread across 26 states, of which 42 sites were laboratories. The EPA consolidated these laboratories into 22 sites. In its first year, the EPA had a budget of $ 1.4 billion and 5,800 employees. At its start, the EPA was primarily a technical assistance agency that set goals and standards. Soon, new acts and amendments passed by Congress gave

3080-576: The De Beers company established a factory in 1902 at Somerset West . The explosives factory was later operated by AECI (African Explosives and Chemical Industries). The demand for the product came mainly from the country's vast gold mines, centered on the Witwatersrand . The factory at Somerset West was in operation in 1903 and by 1907 it was already producing 340,000 cases, 23 kilograms (50 lb) each, annually. A rival factory at Modderfontein

3190-695: The Guggenheims in 1905, but continued to process their concentrates there, in addition to using the Carnegie Co. and a smelter in Salida, Colorado . Yet, economics dictated Bunker Hill build its own smelter at Smelterville, Idaho , which it began operating on 5 July 1917. An improved concentrating process, which included the use of the Huntington roller mill , Callow screens , and Wilfley tables , produced concentrates of 75%. A cadmium recovery plant

3300-687: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. The case revolved around Johnson Controls' policy of excluding fertile women from working in battery manufacturing jobs because batteries contain high amounts of lead, which entails health risks to people's reproductive systems (both men and women) and fetuses. The company started revegetating 18,000 acres in 1972. In April 1975, Bunker Hill stated that employees with blood lead levels higher than 80 micrograms per 0.1 liters, had 90 days to reduce them or be dismissed. However, 1980 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules required

3410-492: The federally recognized tribes . The agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts. The agency's budgeted employee level in 2023 is 16,204.1 full-time equivalent (FTE). More than half of EPA's employees are engineers, scientists, and environmental protection specialists; other employees include legal, public affairs, financial, and information technologists. Beginning in

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3520-506: The 2009 through 2016 model years. Following notice of violations and potential criminal sanctions, Volkswagen later agreed to a legal settlement and paid billions of US dollars in criminal penalties, and was required to initiate a vehicle buyback program and modify the engines of the vehicles to reduce illegal air emissions. In August 2015, the EPA finalized the Clean Power Plan to regulate emissions from power plants, projecting

3630-428: The 20th century. This incorrect connection between TNT and dynamite was enhanced by cartoons such as Bugs Bunny , where animators labeled any kind of bomb (ranging from sticks of dynamite to kegs of black powder ) as TNT, because the acronym was shorter and more memorable and did not require literacy to recognize that TNT meant "bomb". Aside from both being high explosives, TNT and dynamite have little in common. TNT

3740-534: The Bunker Hill mining claim on 10 September 1885, located along the west side of Milo Creek. Named after the Revolutionary War battle, the claim listed the date of discovery as 4 September, with Noah S. Kellogg as a witness. Similar claims were made by Noah Kellogg himself, Jacob Goetz and Cornelius Sullivan, which included the Sullivan claim on the east side of Milo Creek. Other claims followed, including

3850-489: The Coeur d'Alene Basin." The trustees intend to restore habitat for fish, birds and other natural resources, for stewardship while working for economic progress in the region. United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed

3960-718: The Coeur d'Alene and United States after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In 2011 the government, the Coeur d'Alene, and the state of Idaho (which joined the suit to participate in settlement) reached settlement with the Hecla Mining Company to resolve one of the largest cases ever filed under the Superfund statute. Hecla Mining Company will pay $ 263.4 million plus interest to the United States and other parties to "resolve claims stemming from releases of wastes from its mining operations. Settlement funds will be dedicated to restoration and remediation of natural resources in

4070-501: The Department of Health and Human Services to conduct its own review." On February 17, 2017, President Donald Trump appointed Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator. The Democratic Party saw the appointment as a controversial move, as Pruitt had spent most of his career challenging environmental regulations and policies. He did not have previous experience in the environmental protection field and had received financial support from

4180-406: The EPA had spent $ 200 million attempting to remediate the site, much of which was spent removing contaminated topsoil from residential areas. The state of Idaho had also spent funds since the early 1980s on cleanup. While there were measurable improvements in environmental conditions, a vast amount of cleanup and restoration was still required. In 1991 the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, concerned that progress

4290-580: The EPA to gather data on toxic chemicals and share this information with the public. EPA also researched the implications of stratospheric ozone depletion. Under Administrator Thomas, EPA joined with several international organizations to perform a risk assessment of stratospheric ozone, which helped provide motivation for the Montreal Protocol, which was agreed to in August 1987. In 1988, during his first presidential campaign, George H. W. Bush

4400-501: The EPA was working on its own standards, but the move has been widely considered an attempt to shield the auto industry from environmental regulation by setting lower standards at the federal level, which would then preempt state laws. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger , along with governors from 13 other states, stated that the EPA's actions ignored federal law, and that existing California standards (adopted by many states in addition to California) were almost twice as effective as

4510-448: The EPA. The EPA's inspector general had determined that the EPA's regulation of mercury emissions did not follow the Clean Air Act, and that the regulations were influenced by top political appointees. The EPA had suppressed a study it commissioned by Harvard University which contradicted its position on mercury controls. The suit alleged that the EPA's rule exempting coal-fired power plants from "maximum available control technology"

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4620-604: The Federal Water Quality Administration, which had previously been transferred from PHS to the Department of the Interior in 1966. A few functions from other agencies were also incorporated into EPA: the formerly independent Federal Radiation Council was merged into it; pesticides programs were transferred from the Department of the Interior, Food and Drug Administration , and Agricultural Research Service ; and some functions were transferred from

4730-606: The Last Chance by Charles Sweeny, the Stemwinder by George B. McAuley, and the Sierra Nevada by Van B. LeLashmutt. In all the stories recounting the original find, a jackass plays a key role in discovering the galena ore vein . A ruling by Justice Norman Buck awarded O.O. Peck and Dr. J.T. Cooper of Murray, Idaho , a quarter interest in the Bunker Hill claim, since those two provided the ore-discovering jackass as

4840-666: The Spokane Falls and Idaho Railway to connect Coeur d' Alene to the Northern Pacific Railway on the east side of Spokane, Washington , and the Coeur d' Alene Railway and Navigation Company railway to link Cataldo, Idaho with Burke, Idaho . Then in 1886, Corbin bought the Coeur d' Alene and a second steamship, the General Sherman , and built a new mill, which milled 100 tons of ore a day into refined ore containing 28 ounces of silver per ton. The ore

4950-521: The TNT's characteristics. Accordingly, more than 90% of the TNT produced in America was always for the military market, with most TNT used for filling shells, hand grenades and aerial bombs , and the remainder being packaged in brown "bricks" (not red cylinders) for use as demolition charges by combat engineers . In the United States, in 1885, the chemist Russell S. Penniman invented "ammonium dynamite",

5060-534: The Trump administration attempted to revoke a waiver issued to the state which allowed more stringent standards for auto and truck emissions than the federal standards. Dynamited Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin , sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers . It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht , Northern Germany, and

5170-542: The US population. The law required EPA to enforce the standards with the cooperation of state agencies. In October 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) which, like FIFRA, related to the manufacture, labeling and usage of commercial products rather than pollution. This act gave the EPA the authority to gather information on chemicals and require producers to test them, gave it

5280-460: The US. The only facility producing it is located in Carthage, Missouri , but the material is purchased from Dyno Nobel by other manufacturers who put their labels on the dynamite and boxes. Other explosives are often referred to or confused with dynamite: Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is often assumed to be the same as (or confused for) dynamite largely because of the ubiquity of both explosives during

5390-724: The ability to regulate chemical production and use (with specific mention of PCBs ), and required the agency to create the National Inventory listing of chemicals. Congress also enacted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in 1976, significantly amending the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965 . It tasked the EPA with setting national goals for waste disposal, conserving energy and natural resources, reducing waste, and ensuring environmentally sound management of waste. Accordingly,

5500-689: The administrator is normally given cabinet rank . The EPA has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. There are regional offices for each of the agency's ten regions, as well as 27 laboratories around the country. The agency conducts environmental assessment , research, and education. It has the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing national standards under a variety of environmental laws , in consultation with state, tribal, and local governments. EPA enforcement powers include fines, sanctions , and other measures. It delegates some permitting, monitoring, and enforcement responsibility to U.S. states and

5610-472: The age of 17, Alfred Nobel was sent abroad for two years ; in the United States he met Swedish engineer John Ericsson and in France studied under famed chemist Théophile-Jules Pelouze and his pupil Ascanio Sobrero , who had first synthesized nitroglycerin in 1847. Pelouze cautioned Nobel against using nitroglycerine as a commercial explosive because of its great sensitivity to shock. In 1857, Nobel filed

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5720-399: The agency developed regulations for solid and hazardous waste that were to be implemented in collaboration with states. President Jimmy Carter appointed Douglas M. Costle as EPA administrator in 1977. To manage the agency's expanding legal mandates and workload, by the end of 1979 the budget grew to $ 5.4 billion and the workforce size increased to 13,000. In 1980, following

5830-613: The agency in partnership with the states. Congress amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1972, requiring EPA to measure every pesticide's risks against its potential benefits. In 1973 President Nixon appointed Russell E. Train , to be the next EPA Administrator. In 1974 Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act , requiring EPA to develop mandatory federal standards for all public water systems , which serve 90% of

5940-565: The agency its regulatory authority. A major expansion of the Clean Air Act was approved in December 1970. EPA staff recall that in the early days there was "an enormous sense of purpose and excitement" and the expectation that "there was this agency which was going to do something about a problem that clearly was on the minds of a lot of people in this country," leading to tens of thousands of resumes from those eager to participate in

6050-638: The agency's Scientific Integrity Official, Francesca Grifo , from testifying at a House committee hearing. EPA offered to send a different representative in place of Grifo and accused the committee of "dictating to the agency who they believe was qualified to speak." The hearing was to discuss the importance of allowing federal scientists and other employees to speak freely when and to whom they want to about their research without having to worry about any political consequences. In September 2019 air pollution standards in California were once again under attack, as

6160-699: The agency. Assistant Administrator Rita Lavelle was fired by Reagan in February 1983 because of her mismanagement of the Superfund program. Gorsuch had increasing confrontations with Congress over Superfund and other programs, including her refusal to submit subpoenaed documents. Gorsuch was cited for contempt of Congress and the White House directed EPA to submit the documents to Congress. Gorsuch and most of her senior staff resigned in March 1983. Reagan then appointed William Ruckelshaus as EPA Administrator for

6270-419: The budget of the EPA by 22%, reduced the number of cases filed against polluters, relaxed Clean Air Act regulations, and facilitated the spraying of restricted-use pesticides. She cut the total number of agency employees, and hired staff from the industries they were supposed to be regulating. Environmentalists contended that her policies were designed to placate polluters, and accused her of trying to dismantle

6380-459: The censorship of environmental reports . President Obama appointed Gina McCarthy as EPA administrator in 2013. In 2014, the EPA published its "Tier 3" standards for cars, trucks and other motor vehicles, which tightened air pollution emission requirements and lowered the sulfur content in gasoline. In 2015, the EPA discovered extensive violations by Volkswagen Group in its manufacture of Volkswagen and Audi diesel engine cars, for

6490-455: The combination of pesticide programs from the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of the Interior . After conducting hearings during that summer, the House and Senate approved the proposal. The EPA was created 90 days before it had to operate, and officially opened its doors on December 2, 1970. The agency's first administrator, William Ruckelshaus , took

6600-404: The company installed a Carrier Mine Spot Cooler. This cooler reduced the temperature from 87 °F (31 °C) to about 80 °F (27 °C), and the relative humidity from 96% to 84%. In 1947, the mine started using block caving to mine lower grade ore bodies. By 1948, the mill had a 3000 tons per day capacity, the smelter produced almost 10,000 tons of lead per month, the zinc plant had

6710-482: The company to remove employees with elevated blood lead levels with no reduction in pay, only allowing them to return when their levels dropped below 60 micrograms per 0.1 liter. Yet, over half of the smelter workforce exceeded 60. Even more stringent OSHA rules were to take effect in 1984. The company shut down operations for 7 days in Dec. 1975, when it could not meet the EPA standards for SO 2 . Bunker Hill had started

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6820-427: The company upgraded to electrical machinery. This coincided with the company connecting all of the mines underground, and the completion of the over 12,000 foot Kellogg tunnel. Then, on 10 March 1904, the March ore body was discovered, substantially increasing the mine's reserves. Then, in a 1910 stock deal, Bunker Hill gained outright ownership of the Last Chance mine. Bunker Hill Co. sold their ASARCO Tacoma smelter to

6930-418: The curtailment program in 1973 to deal with emissions not captured by the sulfuric acid plant. Then in 1976, the company decided to build a 715-foot stack at the lead smelter, and a 610-foot stack at the zinc plant, to better disperse emissions. In 1983, the Bunker Hill smelter was added to the National Priorities List as a Superfund site by the United States Environmental Protection Agency . As of 2007,

7040-498: The discovery of many abandoned or mismanaged hazardous waste sites such as Love Canal , Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act , nicknamed "Superfund." The new law authorized EPA to cast a wider net for parties responsible for sites contaminated by previous hazardous waste disposal and established a funding mechanism for assessment and cleanup. In

7150-420: The environment. The "detailed statement" would ultimately be referred to as an environmental impact statement (EIS). On July 9, 1970, Nixon proposed an executive reorganization that consolidated many environmental responsibilities of the federal government under one agency, a new Environmental Protection Agency. This proposal included merging pollution control programs from a number of departments, such as

7260-471: The establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order . The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate. The agency is led by its administrator , who is appointed by the president and approved by the Senate . The current administrator is Michael S. Regan . The EPA is not a Cabinet department, but

7370-504: The explosive strength generated by an equivalent density and grain size of a standard explosive). For example, high-explosive 65% Extra dynamite has a weight strength of 65% ammonium nitrate and 35% "dope" (the absorbent medium mixed with the stabilizers and additives). Its "cartridge strength" would be its weight in pounds times its strength in relation to an equal amount of ANFO (the civilian baseline standard) or TNT (the military baseline standard). For example, 65% ammonium dynamite with

7480-753: The factory at Immanuel Nobel's estate at Heleneborg . After this, Alfred founded the company Nitroglycerin Aktiebolaget in Vinterviken to continue work in a more isolated area and the following year moved to Germany, where he founded another company, Dynamit Nobel . Despite the invention of the blasting cap, the instability of nitroglycerin rendered it useless as a commercial explosive. To solve this problem, Nobel sought to combine it with another substance that would make it safe for transport and handling but would not reduce its effectiveness as an explosive. He tried combinations of cement, coal, and sawdust, but

7590-406: The first of several hundred patents , mostly concerning air pressure, gas and fluid gauges, but remained fascinated with nitroglycerin's potential as an explosive. Nobel, along with his father and brother Emil , experimented with various combinations of nitroglycerin and black powder. Nobel came up with a way to safely detonate nitroglycerin by inventing the detonator , or blasting cap, that allowed

7700-548: The fossil fuel industry. In 2017, the Presidency of Donald Trump proposed a 31% cut to the EPA's budget to $ 5.7 billion from $ 8.1 billion and to eliminate a quarter of the agency jobs. However, this cut was not approved by Congress. Pruitt resigned from the position on July 5, 2018, citing "unrelenting attacks" due to ongoing ethics controversies. President Trump appointed Andrew R. Wheeler as EPA Administrator in 2019. On July 17, 2019, EPA management prohibited

7810-621: The late 1950s and through the 1960s, Congress reacted to increasing public concern about the impact that human activity could have on the environment. Senator James E. Murray introduced a bill, the Resources and Conservation Act (RCA) of 1959, in the 86th Congress . The bill would have established a Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President , declared a national environmental policy, and required

7920-511: The mighty effort to clean up America's environment. When EPA first began operation, members of the private sector felt strongly that the environmental protection movement was a passing fad. Ruckelshaus stated that he felt pressure to show a public which was deeply skeptical about government's effectiveness, that EPA could respond effectively to widespread concerns about pollution. The burning Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1969 led to

8030-481: The mine and smelter complex, citing low metal prices, lack of concentrates, and a stricter EPA lead limit of 1.5 micrograms for air quality. At the time of its closure in 1982, the Bunker Hill lead smelter was the largest in the world, and the complex included a zinc plant and silver refinery. The Coeur d'Alene people were able to regain control of a portion of Lake Coeur d'Alene, after a long history of their interests being ignored. The over 100 buildings that made up

8140-528: The mine debris, and by 1910, 65 of them took the company to U.S. District Court. The farmers each received one dollar in damages, with the judge ruling the company could continue to dump debris into the streams. The company did build a tailings dam and later a tailings pond , but continued production despite additional suits. The company joined other mines in forming the Debris Association for litigation defense and payment of some claims. Before

8250-443: The miners assumed the risk by choosing to work. The company did have a compensation plan for victims, and implemented a Clauge electrolytic treatment in 1919, and a solarium in 1929. In an effort to reduce particles, the company installed a 14-unit Frederick Cottrell electrostatic precipitator , and 2800-bag baghouse to capture dust. In 1936, the company added an Impinger dust collector and an Owens jet-dust counter. Prompted by

8360-504: The nearly 1,600 EPA staff scientists who responded online to a detailed questionnaire reported they had experienced incidents of political interference in their work. The survey included chemists, toxicologists, engineers, geologists and experts in other fields of science. About 40% of the scientists reported that the interference had been more prevalent in the last five years than in previous years. President Barack Obama appointed Lisa P. Jackson as EPA administrator in 2009. In 2010 it

8470-846: The number of waste sites that are remediated in a given year. (In 2021 Congress reauthorized an excise tax on chemical manufacturers. ) Major legislative updates during the Clinton Administration were the Food Quality Protection Act and the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. President George W. Bush appointed Christine Todd Whitman as EPA administrator in 2001. Whitman was succeeded by Mike Leavitt in 2003 and Stephen L. Johnson in 2005. In March 2005 nine states (California, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Mexico and Vermont) sued

8580-610: The oath of office on December 4, 1970. EPA's primary predecessor was the former Environmental Health Divisions of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS), and its creation caused one of a series of reorganizations of PHS that occurred during 1966–1973. From PHS, EPA absorbed the entire National Air Pollution Control Administration, as well as the Environmental Control Administration's Bureau of Solid Waste Management, Bureau of Water Hygiene, and part of its Bureau of Radiological Health. It also absorbed

8690-441: The ore. This meant that large amounts of lead and other metals remained in the tailings , which were dumped in nearby waterways. Many of the mine tailings were dumped directly into the Coeur d'Alene River and its tributaries, which became polluted with high levels of sulfur dioxide , lead , and other metals. The water in the river turned opaque gray, earning the stream the nickname "Lead Creek." In 1899, farmers complained about

8800-510: The passage of the Superfund law in 1980, an excise tax had been levied on the chemical and petroleum industries, to support the cleanup trust fund. Congressional authorization of the tax was due to expire in 1995. Although Browner and the Clinton Administration supported continuation of the tax, Congress declined to reauthorize it. Subsequently, the Superfund program was supported only by annual appropriations, greatly reducing

8910-419: The pollution, and mine owners were required to provide settling basins and employ a suction dredger at Cataldo, Idaho , starting in 1932. Yet, the commission determined the water was safe to drink, as long as consumption was limited to less than 2.4 gallons per day! Dr. M.M. Ellis of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries determined the only solution to the pollution in the water system, and consequent lack of fish,

9020-417: The preparation of an annual environmental report. The conservation movement was weak at the time and the bill did not pass Congress. The 1962 publication of Silent Spring , a best-selling book by Rachel Carson , alerted the public about the detrimental effects on animals and humans of the indiscriminate use of pesticide chemicals. In the years following, Congress discussed possible solutions. In 1968,

9130-419: The presiding judge in a litigation brought about by people who claim to have developed glyphosate-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma opened Monsanto emails and other documents related to the case, including email exchanges between the company and federal regulators. According to The New York Times , the "records suggested that Monsanto had ghostwritten research that was later attributed to academics and indicated that

9240-546: The production of dynamite. The factory then went on to produce ammonium nitrate emulsion-based explosives that are safer to manufacture and handle. Dynamite was first manufactured in the US by the Giant Powder Company of San Francisco , California, whose founder had obtained the exclusive rights from Nobel in 1867. Giant was eventually acquired by DuPont , which produced dynamite under the Giant name until Giant

9350-442: The proposed federal standards. It was reported that Johnson ignored his own staff in making this decision. In 2007 it was reported that EPA research was suppressed by career managers. Supervisors at EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment required several paragraphs to be deleted from a peer-reviewed journal article about EPA's integrated risk information system , which led two co-authors to have their names removed from

9460-419: The public welfare—a decision that would trigger the first national mandatory global-warming regulations. Associate Deputy Administrator Jason Burnett e-mailed the draft to the White House. White House aides—who had long resisted mandatory regulations as a way to address climate change—knew the gist of what Johnson's finding would be, Burnett said. They also knew that once they opened the attachment, it would become

9570-414: The publication, and the corresponding author, Ching-Hung Hsu, to leave EPA "because of the draconian restrictions placed on publishing". The 2007 report stated that EPA subjected employees who author scientific papers to prior restraint , even if those papers are written on personal time. In December 2007 EPA administrator Johnson approved a draft of a document that declared that climate change imperiled

9680-402: The smelter complex were demolished. On May 27, 1996, the four smokestacks that made up the city skyline, the tallest being 715-feet, were laced with explosives and toppled. Phil Peterson, a man from Nampa, Idaho won a raffle to push the plunger to set off the explosives. The process used by the first mills, known as "jigging", was very inefficient, often recovering less than 75% of the metal from

9790-481: The smelter or zinc plant, due to the inherent risk. This type of ban was later prohibited due to United Automobile Workers v. Johnson Controls, Inc. , 499 U.S. 187 (1991), which was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States establishing that private sector policies prohibiting women from knowingly working in potentially hazardous occupations are discriminatory and in violation of Title VII and

9900-501: The smelter was constructed, the company knew the smoke and fumes would be an issue, and the lead emissions were a health risk. In the words of the Public Health Service surgeon, Dr. Royd R. Sayers , written in 1918, "Whoever works in or about a lead smelter may become leaded." Yet, the 1924 Idaho Industrial Accident Board stated lead poisoning was an occupational disease not eligible for compensation. In other words,

10010-411: The sorbent used, sticks of dynamite will "weep" or "sweat" nitroglycerin, which can then pool in the bottom of the box or storage area. For that reason, explosive manuals recommend the regular up-ending of boxes of dynamite in storage. Crystals will form on the outside of the sticks, causing them to be even more sensitive to shock, friction, and temperature. Therefore, while the risk of an explosion without

10120-437: The two-year-olds in the region had dangerously high levels of lead in their blood, which had long-term negative consequences for their health, especially intellectual functioning and achievement. Bunker Hill started employing women in the workforce again in 1972, which eventually included 30 in the smelter and 15 in the zinc plant, and the first to work underground. Yet, in 1975, the company banned fertile women from working in

10230-440: The use of a blasting cap is minimal for fresh dynamite, old dynamite is dangerous. Modern packaging helps eliminate this by placing the dynamite into sealed plastic bags and using wax-coated cardboard. Dynamite is moderately sensitive to shock. Shock resistance tests are usually carried out with a drop-hammer: about 100 mg of explosive is placed on an anvil, upon which a weight of between 0.5 and 10 kg (1 and 22 lb)

10340-444: Was patented in 1867. It rapidly gained wide-scale use as a more robust alternative to the traditional black powder explosives. It allows the use of nitroglycerine's favorable explosive properties while greatly reducing its risk of accidental detonation. Dynamite was invented by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel in 1866 and was the first safely manageable explosive stronger than black powder . Alfred Nobel's father, Immanuel Nobel ,

10450-688: Was smelted in Wickes, Montana . In 1887, Corbin added a third steamship, the Kootenai . The steamships were replaced by a Northern Pacific and Union Pacific railway in 1891. Simeon Reed bought the Bunker Hill Mine and Mill, and incorporated the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Company on 29 July 1887. John Hays Hammond was hired to manage the mine, and a new concentrator, The Old South Mill, became operational in 1891, capable of 150 tons per day. A 10,000 foot long aerial tramway

10560-413: Was added to the zinc plant in 1929. This recovery system was replaced in 1945, when the company added a cadmium -processing facility to the smelter, which recovered high-grade cadmium from the smelter's fume and baghouse waste. Also during WWII , Bunker Hill added an antimony electrolytic plant, and because of the manpower shortage, employed about 200 women. As the mine reached 400 feet below sea level,

10670-553: Was an industrialist, engineer, and inventor. He built bridges and buildings in Stockholm and founded Sweden's first rubber factory. His construction work inspired him to research new methods of blasting rock that were more effective than black powder. After some bad business deals in Sweden, in 1838 Immanuel moved his family to Saint Petersburg , where Alfred and his brothers were educated privately under Swedish and Russian tutors. At

10780-619: Was based on ideas that had been discussed in the 1959 and subsequent hearings. The Richard Nixon administration made the environment a policy priority in 1969-1971 and created two new agencies, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and EPA. Nixon signed NEPA into law on January 1, 1970. The law established the CEQ in the Executive Office of the President. NEPA required that a detailed statement of environmental impacts be prepared for all major federal actions significantly affecting

10890-578: Was dissolved by DuPont in 1905. Thereafter, DuPont produced dynamite under its own name until 1911–12, when its explosives monopoly was broken up by the U.S. Circuit Court in the "Powder Case". Two new companies were formed upon the breakup, the Hercules Powder Company and the Atlas Powder Company , which took up the manufacture of dynamite (in different formulations). Currently, only Dyno Nobel manufactures dynamite in

11000-500: Was illegal, and additionally charged that the EPA's system of cap-and-trade to lower average mercury levels would allow power plants to forego reducing mercury emissions, which they objected would lead to dangerous local hotspots of mercury contamination even if average levels declined. Several states also began to enact their own mercury emission regulations. Illinois's proposed rule would have reduced mercury emissions from power plants by an average of 90% by 2009. In 2008—by which point

11110-711: Was installed to connect the adit in Wardner with the mill in Kellogg. Frederick Worthen Bradley took over management of the mine in 1893, and became president of Bunker Hill Co.in 1897. He installed the first electric hoist in 1894, and replaced the haulage horses with a locomotive. In 1897, work started on a tunnel connecting the mine with Kellogg. Then, in 1898, he gained control of the ASARCO lead smelter in Tacoma, Washington , when Bunker Hill Co. and Alaska Treadwell purchased

11220-525: Was not back in normal operation until 17 March 1974. The company actually increased lead production during this period, taking advantage of increased prices. Lead emissions increased to 35.3 tons per month, compared to 8.3 tons per month from 1955 to 1964. Lead levels in Kellogg-Smelterville had increased to 13.2 micrograms per cubic meter in 1973, compared to 3.9 in 1971. After two Kellogg children were hospitalized for lead poisoning in 1974,

11330-550: Was producing another 200,000 cases per year. There were two large explosions at the Somerset West plant during the 1960s. Some workers died, but the loss of life was limited by the modular design of the factory and its earth works, and the planting of trees that directed the blasts upward. There were several other explosions at the Modderfontein factory. After 1985, pressure from trade unions forced AECI to phase out

11440-605: Was reflected in the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act and in new approaches by the agency, such as a greater emphasis on watershed -based approaches in Clean Water Act programs. In 1992 EPA and the Department of Energy launched the Energy Star program, a voluntary program that fosters energy efficiency. Carol Browner was appointed EPA administrator by President Bill Clinton and served from 1993 to 2001. Major projects during Browner's term included: Since

11550-493: Was reported that a $ 3 million mapping study on sea level rise was suppressed by EPA management during both the Bush and Obama administrations, and managers changed a key interagency report to reflect the removal of the maps. Between 2011 and 2012, some EPA employees reported difficulty in conducting and reporting the results of studies on hydraulic fracturing due to industry and governmental pressure, and were concerned about

11660-536: Was supposed to be released the day before a controversial energy bill was passed and would have provided backup for those opposed to it, but the EPA delayed its release at the last minute. EPA initiated its voluntary WaterSense program in 2006 to encourage water efficiency through the use of a special label on consumer products. In 2007 the state of California sued the EPA for its refusal to allow California and 16 other states to raise fuel economy standards for new cars. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson claimed that

11770-479: Was the complete exclusion of dumping mine wastes into the river. Yet, a 1948 deed granted that right to the company. In summary, though everyone, the company, the government, and the public, agreed tailings and smelter smoke polluted the region, the importance of the mine to the economy took precedent. In the 1950s, the US Forest Service complained that fumes from the zinc plant were killing trees in

11880-409: Was too slow at the Superfund site, brought suit against Hecla Mining Company , ASARCO and other companies for damages and recovery of cleanup costs of the site. In 1996 it was joined by the United States in the suit. In 2001 the United States and the Coeur d'Alene litigated a 78-day trial against Hecla and ASARCO over liability issues. In 2008, ASARCO, the other major defendant, reached settlement with

11990-566: Was unsuccessful. Finally, he tried diatomaceous earth , which is fossilized algae, that he brought from the Elbe River near his factory in Hamburg , which successfully stabilized the nitroglycerin into a portable explosive. Nobel obtained patents for his inventions in England on 7 May 1867 and in Sweden on 19 October 1867. After its introduction, dynamite rapidly gained wide-scale use as

12100-544: Was vocal about environmental issues. Following his election victory, he appointed William K. Reilly , an environmentalist, as EPA Administrator in 1989. Under Reilly's leadership, the EPA implemented voluntary programs and initiated the development of a "cluster rule" for multimedia regulation of the pulp and paper industry. At the time, there was increasing awareness that some environmental issues were regional or localized in nature, and were more appropriately addressed with sub-national approaches and solutions. This understanding

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