"The Biden administration announced Wednesday the addition of a historic Northern California mine to the Superfund National Priorities List — a federal index that ranks hazardous waste site risk and helps in prioritizing cleanup operations.

The Afterthought Mine, located in Shasta County about 200 miles north of Sacramento, produced gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc from 1862 to 1952, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Despite its name — denoting the site’s attachment to a much larger initial claim — Afterthought became one of Shasta County’s biggest copper mines. But the property, which changed hands multiple times over the years, also went on to cause environmental contamination for decades beyond its mid-20th-century closure."

Sharon Udasin reports for The Hill September 4, 2024. [2]