The Collapse Of Gulf Widow Gets New Yard, But No Pension

Opal Taylor has little to show for her late husband’s 23 years at Bunker Hill.

At 64, she receives no retirement money. Her health insurance benefits are about to be reduced.

She’s still fighting to get a life insurance payment from Gulf Resources & Chemical Corp., a frustrating effort because she can’t afford an attorney.

Further aggravation comes next month, when her lead-laden yard gets dug up and replaced with clean soil. She lives in Smelterville, Idaho, within shouting distance of the Bunker Hill lead smelter.

The cost, some $20,000, will be borne by mining companies that along with Gulf are blamed for polluting the Silver Valley.

“It seems like a lot of money to spend for such a little thing,” Taylor said. “I’ve lived here since 1952 without any trouble from the lead.”

But without the clean soil, Taylor may never be able to sell her house. Banks are leery of the contaminated property. Hundreds of Silver Valley residents face the same problem.

Taylor can’t plant a tree in her yard, because federal guidelines will prohibit her from digging beneath the new, clean soil.

“What a waste,” Taylor says of the soil-removal program. “What a terrible waste.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo