Industries in Omaha Associated with Lead
Dublin Core
Title
Industries in Omaha Associated with Lead
Subject
Lead industry
Omaha business
Lead
Omaha business
Lead
Description
The true lead exposure of workers in various industries will never be truly known. There was a culture of silence that workers lived and moved in, and this deeply hampered their ability to be honest about the extent of lead poisoning in their bodies. Companies, bosses, doctors, and even the Occupational Health and Safety Administration lacked the initiative to fully investigate the damage done to the Omaha community, as well as other lead industry-based cities. (Markowitz and Ronson, 123) Even the knowledge of all the industries that lead touched is unknown. While there is an extensive list of known industries, provided by https://www.haz-map.com/lead.html, there are still possible jobs where lead exposure is coded as some other illness, or not recognized because it seems so far removed from any source of lead.
Some of the most common industries in the Omaha area were lead refining, printing, bullet manufacturing, paint and paint products, gas stations and manufacturers, canning and batteries. The most well-known and controversial figure in Omaha’s lead industry history is American Smelting and Refining Company, as it was in business for over 125 years. As such, it employed a large breadth of employees over that span of time. It was subject to an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency, ultimately resulting in the company and the surrounding zip codes to be deemed a Superfund Site - the largest in the United States of America. The lawsuit ended up in tens of millions of dollars, and made Omaha infamous for its astronomical levels of lead in workers and children, specifically. There are still remediation efforts to this day.
ASARCO is vital in unboxing the Omaha lead industry because it took the raw chemical - lead - and formed it into a usable substance by the various other industries listed above. It was exported to be usable in gas, printing ink, soldering for canning, paint, and batteries. As such, businesses attached to lead boomed, such as Gould Electric. They manufactured batteries used in all types of devices and machines. Similarly, the Lawrence Shot Company manufactured bullets and weapons fashioned from lead and were particularly profitable during war times, ultimately closing its doors in 1960. Carter White Lead was a huge manufacturer for leaded paint, specifically white lead, which was in high demand at the turn of the 20th century. Any home built before 1978 is subject to lead paint, which is a common way children are exposed because the taste is sweet. Similarly, printing presses were a common source of lead poisoning. Leaded ink was used for published newspapers, such as the Omaha Bee and the Omaha World Herald, for decades until its negative effects were recognized.
Tens of thousands of workers and their families were at risk of lead poisoning because of the exposure at these industries. The efforts to reduce childhood risk and continually sample soil and water levels are still ever-present.
Some of the most common industries in the Omaha area were lead refining, printing, bullet manufacturing, paint and paint products, gas stations and manufacturers, canning and batteries. The most well-known and controversial figure in Omaha’s lead industry history is American Smelting and Refining Company, as it was in business for over 125 years. As such, it employed a large breadth of employees over that span of time. It was subject to an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency, ultimately resulting in the company and the surrounding zip codes to be deemed a Superfund Site - the largest in the United States of America. The lawsuit ended up in tens of millions of dollars, and made Omaha infamous for its astronomical levels of lead in workers and children, specifically. There are still remediation efforts to this day.
ASARCO is vital in unboxing the Omaha lead industry because it took the raw chemical - lead - and formed it into a usable substance by the various other industries listed above. It was exported to be usable in gas, printing ink, soldering for canning, paint, and batteries. As such, businesses attached to lead boomed, such as Gould Electric. They manufactured batteries used in all types of devices and machines. Similarly, the Lawrence Shot Company manufactured bullets and weapons fashioned from lead and were particularly profitable during war times, ultimately closing its doors in 1960. Carter White Lead was a huge manufacturer for leaded paint, specifically white lead, which was in high demand at the turn of the 20th century. Any home built before 1978 is subject to lead paint, which is a common way children are exposed because the taste is sweet. Similarly, printing presses were a common source of lead poisoning. Leaded ink was used for published newspapers, such as the Omaha Bee and the Omaha World Herald, for decades until its negative effects were recognized.
Tens of thousands of workers and their families were at risk of lead poisoning because of the exposure at these industries. The efforts to reduce childhood risk and continually sample soil and water levels are still ever-present.
Source
Omaha City Directories, 1880-1990s
Date
1880s-1990s
Contributor
Rohit Akella
Betty Straub
Betty Straub
Format
Excel Spreadsheet
Language
English
Collection
Other Media
Citation
“Industries in Omaha Associated with Lead,” History of Environmental Inequalities, accessed April 18, 2024, https://steppingintothemap.com/inequalities/items/show/71.
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