East Helena, The Smelter Town
Near Helena, Montana
East Helena grew up around one thing: the lead smelter. In eighteen eighty-eight, American Smelting and Refining Company, known as ASARCO, established a smelter here and ran it for over a century, processing lead bullion, copper by-products, and sulfuric acid. At its peak the plant processed seventy thousand tons of lead bullion a year and employed a significant share of the local workforce.
ASARCO sponsored local sports teams called the Smelterites and funded the annual fireworks show. In nineteen eighty-four the Environmental Protection Agency designated the site a Superfund location after finding elevated lead and arsenic in local soil and children's blood. ASARCO filed for bankruptcy in two thousand five, and a settlement in two thousand nine directed one hundred million dollars into a Montana environmental trust for cleanup.
The smelter closed in two thousand one after one hundred thirteen years of operation.
