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Bunker Hill/Pintlar Corporation Records

 Collection
Identifier: MG 413

Scope and Contents

The records of Bunker Hill/Pintlar span the years 1887 to 1996, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1968 to 1996.

Included in the collection are administrative records, correspondence, Superfund work plans and proposals, media coverage, litigation documents, financial records, personnel information and stockholder records.

Dates

  • Creation: 1887-1996

Language of Materials

This manuscript is in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to the public. Researchers must use the collection in accordance with the policies of the University of Idaho Special Collections and Archives.

Conditions Governing Use

Consult Head of Special Collections and Archives on permission for use.

Historical Note

The holdings of the University of Idaho repository comprise a total of five Bunker Hill Mining Company manuscript collections. A comprehensive history of the mine and successive transfers of ownership and name changes can be found in the “corporate history” section of the inventory for Manuscript Group 367. Manuscript Group 413 documents the periods from Gulf Resources and Chemical Corporation takeover of Bunker Hill operations in 1968, its sale of Idaho assets to Bunker Limited Partnership in 1982, and bankruptcy of the last owner, Pintlar Corporation. The Bunker Hill Company was proposed as a Superfund cleanup site in 1982 and officially listed in 1983. A total of 21 square miles were earmarked for clean up and remediation. Pintlar declared bankruptcy in 1993 and the responsibility for the Superfund site was assumed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1995. The records within this manuscript group were donated to the University of Idaho by that federal agency.

A significant amount of the collection contains documentation and exhibits related to litigation. Unique insights can be found in depositions taken for various lawsuits. The day-to-day operations of the company can be seen through the eyes of the administrators of the company, former smelter workers, environmental consultants, agents of federal and state government entities, and the litigants themselves. Especially interesting are the transcripts of testimony taken from court proceedings in which families sought compensation for lead poisoning suffered by their children as a direct result of particulate emissions from the smelter. The collection also contains numerous environmental studies and recommendations for remediation. Studies such as the Shoshone Project are insightful as to the general health of the region’s population and property.

Extent

367 cubic feet

Abstract

Administrative records, correspondence, Superfund work plans and proposals, media coverage, litigation documents, financial records, personnel information and stockholder records.

Arrangement

The records of the Bunker Hill /Pintlar Corporation were received in increments over a period of several months between 1997 and 1998. They were originally stored in various locations throughout the Bunker Hill Company site. During the 1970s as federal mandates began to be initiated governing environmental standards, records were pulled by different company departments in order to document and defend past practices of pollution control and compliance. As the company faced increasingly stricter legislation concerning emissions from its lead and zinc plants, document retrieval by company representatives and their attorneys accelerated and many company documents were refilled as needed into new litigation files. As shipments arrived at the university, an attempt was made to recreate the original order of some of the record groups based on folder headings and chronology. These folder headings have been maintained throughout the collection and the series list reflects an attempt to group records into logical categories. Originally, the accessions totaled 574 c.f. including unprocessed maps and blueprints. These maps and blueprints will be cataloged and added at a later date. After weeding out duplicate records amounting to 70 c.f., the Bunker Hill/Pintlar manuscript collection is 367 c.f.

Physical Location

Special Collections and Archives of the University of Idaho Library

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The records of the Bunker Hill/Pintlar Corporation were donated to the University of Idaho Library by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in cooperation with the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality between 1997 and 1998. Several Bunker Hill accessions were donated over time and later combined to comprise this manuscript group.

Processing Information

The records of the Bunker Hill/Pintlar Corporation were processed by Richard Davis, Wayne Cochrane, and Marilyn Sandmeyer between 1998 and 2006.

Title
Guide to the Bunker Hill/Pintlar Corporation records 1887-1996
Author
Finding aid prepared by R. Davis, W. Cochrane, and M. Sandmeyer
Date
2013
Description rules
Finding Aid Based On Dacs ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard)
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latn
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Repository