Begin reading about El Paso here. ASARCO was central to El Paso’s economy. By 1927 it commanded "a million dollar payroll."

It was common knowledge that Asarco often waited until the winds blew south towards Mexico to fire up the furnaces and increase production.

"Even in the worst inner city neighborhoods…we had never seen 3/4 of the children with blood lead levels above 40." Dr. Philip Landrigan

In 1972, the City of El Paso, led by Mayor Bert Williams and the State of Texas filed suit against ASARCO.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s ASARCO's plants around the U.S. were receiving heightened scrutiny from local, state and federal officials,...

In 1999, one year following the EPA consent decrees, ASARCO closed the El Paso plant, citing the falling price of copper as the reason...

Historical and contemporary images of El Paso.