Copper giant ASARCO has a long history of polluting the
communities in which it operates. The first environmental
lawsuit against the company was brought in 1910, and its name is
currently associated with 19 Superfund sites. In the 1970s, the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that ASARCO's copper
smelter in El Paso, Texas, was responsible for high lead levels
in local children. (Smokestacks of the El Paso smelter loom over
children's playground in neighboring Ciudad Juarez, Mexico,
above; smelter pictured below.) The city subsequently won a
lawsuit against ASARCO, forcing it to agree to control its
emissions. But public health and government officials failed to
hold the company responsible, and chronic pollution problems
persisted. The smelter ceased operations in 1999, with several
lawsuits still in progress. But ASARCO wants to reopen the
facility, and in 2002 applied to renew its state air permit,
prompting the Sierra Club to join a lawsuit to block the
permit's issuance. The Club has been a leader in