Leaded: The Poisoning of Idaho’s Silver Valley examines the origin, evolution, and causes of harmful environmental and human health effects caused by mining operations in Idaho’s Coeur d'Alene Mining District, the “Silver Valley,” from 1885-1981. During that period, district mines produced over $4 billion worth of lead, silver, and zinc. The Bunker Hill Company dominated business and community activities through ownership of its rich mine, lead smelter, and zinc plant.
 
During the first half of the 20th century, industrial mining operations caused severe environmental damage to area waterways and lands from releases of lead and other toxic metals, and sulfur gases. Despite the obvious devastation, no effective federal laws regulating mining and smelting operations were passed until the 1970s, due to the influence of the mine and lead industry in state and federal politics, and scientific uncertainties about pollution effects. Harmful human health effects were evident soon after the smelter opened in 1917, when Bunker Hill workers suffered from lead poisoning, but no federal laws regulating workplace lead were passed until the 1970s.
 
In 1974, lead smelter emissions from Bunker Hill caused the largest epidemic of childhood lead poisoning in U.S. history. That landmark event ultimately led to the EPA mandating federal air lead standards in 1978 and, at the same time, NIOSH passed national standards reducing occupational lead exposures. Bunker Hill could not meet the new standards; consequently, the company closed in 1981, leaving behind a contaminated geographic area that was classified as the largest Superfund site in the United States in 1983.
 
Leaded is a deeply researched account of one of the greatest environmental disasters in our history. It belongs on the bookshelf of every student of environmental history, western history, mining history, environmental ethics, and environmental law.
 

For over half a century, the Vietnamese people have endured the harmful legacies of Agent Orange, the toxic herbicide used by the American military as a type of chemical warfare. While scientists and politicians continue to debate how to best address its human and environmental consequences, the nearly three million Vietnamese whose lives have been shaped by its lingering effects have been largely left out of the conversation.

To understand how Agent Orange has impacted the lives and livelihoods of everyday Vietnamese people, Diane Niblack Fox interviewed families and individuals living with its aftereffects across the northern, central, and southern regions of the country. In powerfully written prose, Fox shares the personal accounts of villagers, as they describe caring for loved ones with chronic illnesses and disabilities and their attempts to secure medical and financial assistance. Living with Agent Orange also chronicles the moving stories of rebuilt lives, of family and community support, and of the overriding power of the human spirit.