The Toxic Anthracite = Toxic Heritage

Abstract

The anthracite coal industry in northeastern Pennsylvania developed in the late eighteenth century and helped ignite the industrial revolution in the following century. The industry reached its peak during the WWI era and then began its slow, long, precipitous decline. Open-pit and underground mining impacted a large portion of the region, scarring vast swaths of landscapes. The ground waters that flow into tributaries and rivers are poisoned with high levels of metals and high acid content. While much of the region is being slowly depopulated, the area has found different and conflicting ways to remember this toxic heritage. Early forms of nostalgia focus on the once-powerful industry. More recent forms of nostalgia highlight the struggles of the working class to survive. Other forms focus on remembering how exploited workers rebelled against capital. The toxic anthracite has led to different forms of toxic heritage.