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Bunker Hill/Pintlar Corporation Records, 1887-1996

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Pintlar Corporation
Title
Bunker Hill/Pintlar Corporation Records
Dates
1887-1996 (inclusive)
1968-1996 (bulk)
Quantity
367 cubic feet
Collection Number
MG 413
Summary
Administrative records, correspondence, Superfund work plans and proposals, media coverage, litigation documents, financial records, personnel information and stockholder records.
Repository
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Access Restrictions

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.

Languages
This manuscript is in English.
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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.

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Content Description

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.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

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

Preferred Citation

Bunker Hill/Pintlar Corporation Records, MG 413, Special Collections and Archives, University of Idaho Library, Moscow, Idaho.

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Administrative Information

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.

Location of Collection

Special Collections and Archives of the University of Idaho Library

Acquisition Information

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 Note

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

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by R. Davis, W. Cochrane, and M. Sandmeyer
2013

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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