In the 1840s, another mineral was found in Saucon Creek Valley
which lead to further industrialization of the Lehigh River Watershed.
Zinc was the basic ingredient in white paint; it was also a rustproof
metal (Hall and Hall, 1982). In 1853, the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Zinc
Company was formed on the banks of the Lehigh River in Bethlehem. Later,
in 1898, the New Jersey Zinc Company developed in Palmerton, and slowly
the town began to form. Two zinc smeltering plants were developed: a
west plant and an east plant. The east plant was on the southern bank
of the Aquashicola Creek and flowed into the Lehigh River. The west
plant was on the Lehigh River itself. The zinc industry helped provide
jobs and money to those who lived in the town. It also was the reason
that a town developed on the site in the first place (Hugh Moore Historical
Park and Museums).
But where there is industry, there is often harm to the environment.
The zinc industry was truly detrimental to the waters and land surrounding
it. Today, if you travel down the Lehigh River in Palmerton and look
at the hills on its bank, there is no vegetative growth. The land is
merely hills of dirt. The land has been highly contaminated by the zinc
smeltering that occurred there for 90 years. Lead, cadmium, and zinc
left from the zinc smeltering process has been deposited in water and
soils surrounding the east and west plants. The hills near these factories,
including those on the river, could not support vegetation as a result
of heavy metals concentrating in that area. Therefore, heavy metals
present in surface water runoff from the mountain into area streams
into the Lehigh River.
The minerals that have been left can be detrimental to ones health
if they are present in food. Palmerton has educated its citizens on
the possible negative effects of being exposed to these toxins. They
are, however, still doing research in order to determine how to control
the problem that began when zinc smelting started in the area (Fox et
al., 1987).