Kaiser cleanup shows evolution in environmental understanding

Kaiser cleanup of former smelting property in Mead shows evolution in environmental understanding.

Section:Gallery

Thu., Oct. 15, 2020

The outfall from the nearby Kaiser Aluminum smelting plant into the Peone Creek swimming hole is seen here in a photo taken Nov. 20, 1970. County officials said when dedicating the park that the water that flowed into the creek was of the same quality as the creek water, based on available tests at the time.

The Spokesman-Review Photo Archive
Crews work to excavate contaminated sediment from a settling pond near the site of the former Kaiser aluminum smelter near Mead in this photo taken Oct. 6, 2020.

Courtesy Environmental Protection Agency
Workers remove asbestos- and PCB-contaminated siding from a building on the former site of the Kaiser aluminum smelter near Mead in this photo taken Aug. 20, 2020.

Courtesy Environmental Protection Agency
A worker samples materials in search of asbestos ahead of planned environmental cleanup at the former Kaiser Aluminum smelter site near Mead in this photo taken in May 2019.

Courtesy Environmental Protection Agency
The former Kaiser Aluminum smelter site in Mead photographed, Wed., Oct 15, 2020.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review
The former Kaiser Aluminum Mead smelter site, seen on Thursday. The area, polluted by harmful chemicals, is now being decontaminated.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review