RSR Corp.’s smelter in West Dallas
Mid-1930s: A lead smelter opens on Westmoreland Road in what later would become West Dallas.
1954: The Dallas Housing Authority finishes 3,500 low-income housing units just north of the smelter.
1968: Dallas becomes one of the first cities in the U.S. to enact an ordinance that limits average monthly emissions from the smelters to 5 micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air.
1971: RSR acquires the West Dallas smelter.
1972: RSR comes under a federal antitrust investigation after it bought a company that owned four lead smelters in the U.S.
May 1974: Dallas sues RSR and two other smelters operating in the area to force compliance with the city’s lead ordinance.
1978: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enacts the federal standard on airborne lead — an average of 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
November 1981: To settle the antitrust complaint, RSR agrees to sell its Dallas smelter.
1981-1982: Several private lawsuits are filed. RSR’s nearly $20 million settlement in mid-1985 with West Dallas children exposed to lead contamination grew out of these suits.
February 1983: Testing ordered by EPA officials confirms that lead poisoning had occurred around RSR.
March-April 1983: The Texas Air Control Board staff recommends that the state sue RSR over its emissions violations. At first the Dallas City Council balks, but Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox announces he will file suit on behalf of the air board. The council votes to join in.
August 1983: RSR agrees to settle the Mattox lawsuit by financing a soil replacement program and blood tests for children and pregnant women near the smelter. The company also agrees to install new pollution controls.
February 1984: Murmur Corp. submits the only bid to buy the smelter for $25,000 after the Federal Trade Commission forced its sale to settle the antitrust case. RSR officials, angry at having to sell the plant for a fraction of its worth, say they will not comply with a Feb. 29 deadline to install pollution controls. A judge orders the smelter closed.
May 1984: The city attorney asks the city’s Board of Adjustment to order the smelter to remain closed under the zoning code. Since 1974, smelters had been required to obtain a special permit, and RSR had never applied for one.
September. 6, 1984: Murmur’s attorneys argue that the company should be given several years to recoup its investment in the plant, including $412,000 in new pollution controls. But the board orders the smelter permanently closed.
1984-1985: Contaminated soil is removed from residential areas within a half-mile of the smelter.
1991: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowers the blood lead level of concern to 10.
July 1991: A resident’s complaint about contamination from battery chips and slag in residential areas is forwarded to the EPA.
October 1991: The EPA issues an action memorandum to address the contamination.
1992-1994: Cleanup of contaminated soil occurs at schools, parks and residences.
May 1995: The EPA says no further action is needed in residential areas.
August 1995: A $16.1 million settlement is reached in several lawsuits filed against RSR on behalf of children injured by lead contamination.
September. 29, 1995: West Dallas is finalized on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites.
1996-1997: The EPA signs records of decision for cleanup on smelter properties and landfill areas in West Dallas.
2001: The 300-foot-tall smelter smokestack is taken down.
Exide’s smelter in Frisco
April 25, 1964: Ground is broken for the Gould National Batteries oxide plant, which opens later that year.
1969: The plant begins recycling batteries.
November 1991: The area around the plant is declared to be in nonattainment because its lead emissions exceed the 1978 federal air-quality standard.
2000: Exide Technologies acquires the plant.
October. 3, 2008: Exide files an application with the state to increase production.
November 2008: The EPA says it will tighten the federal air-quality standard for lead to 0.15 micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air 