Study Links Greenland Arsenic Spike to Montana Smelters
Researchers tie 1884-1918 heavy metal increases in Arctic ice cores to copper smelting in Anaconda, Montana.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Environmental
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A study in Nature Sustainability attributes arsenic and heavy metal increases of up to 15-fold in Greenland ice cores from 1884 to 1918 to copper smelters in Anaconda, Montana. The Anaconda smelter operated for about a century, with its last and largest smelter shutting down in 1980.
Why it matters
The findings show that industrial emissions from a single Montana site traveled to the Arctic and left a measurable record in ice. For Montana, the study links the state's copper industry to long-range contamination and to the legacy of smelting in Anaconda.
Ice cores from Greenland, Canada and the Russian Arctic recorded arsenic and heavy metal increases of up to 15-fold from 1884 to 1918, according to the study's analysis. Researchers ruled out copper producers in Michigan and Tacoma, Washington, but the exact emission quantities and baseline levels were not reported.
The players
Nature Sustainability
Nature Sustainability is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes research on environmental and sustainability science.
Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund site
The Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area is a federal Superfund site in Montana, widely regarded as one of the largest and most toxic remediation sites in the United States.
The details
Researchers analyzed ice cores collected with electro-mechanical drills and used patterns of atmospheric circulation, historic data and modeling to identify the Anaconda smelter as the source. Copper production in Montana came almost entirely from sulfide ores in Butte, and electrostatic precipitators were later installed at the Anaconda smelter, reducing heavy metal emissions.
Timeline
1870 to 1914: Period often dated as the second Industrial Revolution in the U.S.
1884 to 1918: Arsenic and heavy metal increases recorded in Greenland ice cores.
1980: The last and largest Anaconda copper smelter shut down.
Big Picture
The study extends the documented legacy of Anaconda's smelting, long associated with the Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund cleanup, from local contamination to deposits recorded in Arctic ice. It shows that Montana's nineteenth-century copper boom left a measurable trace thousands of miles away.
The study reframes how historical industrial emissions are read, showing that century-old smelting left a chemical record in the Arctic. Future work on ice cores and remediation of legacy sites may shape how Montana communities understand long-term environmental risks.
The takeaway
Ice cores can preserve a century-old record of industrial pollution, so historical emissions can be traced far from their source. Communities near legacy industrial sites should be aware that contamination can extend well beyond local boundaries.
Further reading
For related coverage, see Environmental reporting on pollution legacies across Montana.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Missoulian.
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