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The Environment, Health, and Culture in Butte, Montana

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The Environment, Health, and Culture in Butte, Montana University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2012 COMING TO THE SURFACE: THE ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH, AND CULTURE IN BUTTE, MONTANA Stacie Lynn Barry The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Barry, Stacie Lynn, "COMING TO THE SURFACE: THE ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH, AND CULTURE IN BUTTE, MONTANA" (2012). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 210. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/210 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMING TO THE SURFACE THE ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH, AND CULTURE IN BUTTE, MONTANA 1950-2010 By Stacie Lynn Barry B.S. Environmental Engineering, Montana Tech, Butte, MT, 1995 M.S. Environmental Engineering, Mine Waste Option, Montana Tech, Butte, MT, 2006 Dissertation Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies The University of Montana Missoula, MT May 2012 Approved by: Sandy Ross, Associate Dean of the Graduate School Graduate school, University of Montana Pat Munday, Chair Technical Communication, Montana Tech Holly Peterson Environmental Engineering, Montana Tech Bob Ziegler Liberal Studies, Montana Tech Janet Finn School of Social Work, University of Montana Greg Campbell Anthropology, University of Montana Abstract Barry, Stacie, Interdisciplinary Studies, Spring 2010 Coming to the Surface: The Environment, Health, and Culture in Butte, Montana Chairperson: Pat Munday Butte is a small town in southwest Montana that was profoundly shaped by over a century of mining and smelting activities. Today, Butte is a post-industrial city that is the focal point of America‘s largest Superfund site as well as the nation‘s largest National Historic District. There are two types of remediation occurring in Butte: environmental and cultural. Environmental remediation occurs throughout the city, most notably at the operable units of the Butte Superfund sites. This remediation does not restore the environment to its original state but instead reclaims it to a level of risk deemed acceptable by the EPA. Much like environmental remediation, community members practice acts of reclaiming history, landscape, and community. These are acts of cultural reclamation. To understand the current interrelationship between the environment, health, and culture in Butte, it is first necessary to understand the cultural foundations. Butte is a mining town that practices mining culture. A mining culture has several characteristics: physical and/or cultural isolation; pride in resilience, toughness, and craftsmanship; strong sense of community and kin networks; distrust of institutions, politics, and positions of power; historic pride and romanticizing the past; and gender division. These cultural values are at the core of Butte‘s culture and heritage. These values are a basis for historic preservationists who oppose environmental remediation and promote the preservation of the historic mining landscape. This is in sharp contrast to the environmental groups that promote environmental remediation and cite elevated risk levels and potential health effects in their reasoning. Debate about risk levels and the consequences of living in a toxic landscape do not provide answers regarding health issues, however. The community does not track disease rates and has never performed a longitudinal epidemiology study. By remaining unaware of disease rates, the community and those in positions of power are left with only opinions. As a remedy, this study set out to investigate mortality rates in Butte and compare them to the state of Montana and the United States. This study showed that the majority of the mortality rates in Butte are greater than the state of Montana and United States rates for all disease groups, and that mortality rates fluctuate over time but are consistently elevated. It also showed that mortality rates correlate with the target systems of concern. It did not show a clear reduction in mortality rates after remediation. Several diseases, such as neurological disease, did decrease after remediation, and this potentially correlates to the extensive lead abatement program in the city. ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank the members of my committee for agreeing to be a part of an interdisciplinary study and providing a wide breadth and depth of knowledge. I would like to thank Dr. Pat Munday, in particular, for supporting me through this process and having an amazing ability to switch from a poet to an expert in environmental issues to an authority in studies of technology and science. He also reminded me that rust never sleeps. Dr. Holly Peterson provided me with the impetus to start the health study and a background in risk analysis, toxicology, and environmental impacts. Her studies of domestic pets and forest animals as bioindicators of exposure to contamination have greatly increased the knowledge of ecological receptors in metal contaminated areas. Dr. Bob Ziegler kept my poetic heart beating throughout the study. Our special topics classes on the poetics of the environment were the best experience of my academic career, and I cannot thank him enough for introducing me to Gaston Bachelard. Dr. Janet Finn opened my eyes to many of the cultural issues in the Butte community. Her works Tracing the Veins and Motherlode were a constant source of information and context. Dr. Greg Campbell provided me with a background in cultural heritage issues, particularly the cultural landscape, authorized heritage discourse, and traditional cultural properties. I found these frameworks invaluable in the understanding the interconnection of the environment, health, and culture in Butte. I would also like to thank the Butte Health Department for its support of the health study. Dan Powers, in particular, was a champion of the study. He didn‘t have to stand up for me or the study in the face of bureaucracy and I am incredibly grateful that he was in my corner. Other Butte-Silver Bow departments and employees I am indebted to include the Butte Archives, Butte GIS Department, Tom Malloy, and Rick Larson. I would also like to thank the members of the Butte community groups Butte Restoration Alliance and Citizen‘s Technical Environmental Committee for allowing me to be a part of their ranks. I would like to thank my friends and family for their ideas, support, input, and editing skills. Mark Peterson was my partner through this study and I couldn‘t have done it without him. My mother, Nancy Barry, spent countless hours helping me with the health data and understanding community values and connections. My sister, Heather Snyder, was a great source for support, interdisciplinary thinking, and ideas. Not many people can quote Mary MacLane and HIPPA laws at the same time. Rich Myers was a great editor, and I truly appreciate his willingness to deal with tight deadlines and an unconventional subject. I would also like to thank my previous employers. The good people of Heritage Research Center taught me about environmental history, law, and heritage issues and expanded my horizons greatly. I still can‘t believe you paid me to go to archives around the country. The Mine Waste Technology program at Montana Tech was an incredible experience of research, science, outreach, support, and education. Finally, I would like to thank my current employer, the National Center for Appropriate Technology, for their support and the opportunity to complete this study. iii Acronyms ALS Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig‘s disease AMR Abandoned Mines Reclamation Bureau ARCO-BP ARCO-British Petroleum ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry BRA Butte Restoration Alliance BPSOU Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit BRES Butte Remediation Evaluation System CBD Central Business District CDC Centers for Disease Control COC Contaminant of concern CHPO Community Historic Preservation Officer CFWEP Clark Fork Watershed Education Program CTEC Citizens Technical Environmental Committee DPHHS Department of Health and Human Services EPA Environmental Protection Agency GIS Geographic Information System (computer program) HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act MDEQ Montana Department of Environmental Quality mg/kg milligrams per kilogram MRI Montana Resources Incorporated MS Multiple Sclerosis NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NHL National Historic Landmark NHPA National Historic Preservation Act NPL National Priorities List NPS National Park Service NRDP National Resource Damage Program PAH Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon PCB Polychlorinated biphenyl PCP Pentachlorophenol PPB Parts per billion PPM Parts per million PRP Potentially responsible party RHPP Regional Historic Preservation Plan SHPO State Historic Preservation Office SMR Standardized mortality ratio URA Urban Revitalization Agency WPA Works Progress Administration µg/dL micrograms per deciliter µg/l micrograms per liter iv Table of Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................
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