Poison in the Rockies (1990)

Poison in the Rockies  is an update of Downwind/ Downstream for the PBS science show NOVA, including 23 minutes of new material. It details how thousands of abandoned mines contaminate water by leaching heavy metals into rivers and streams, a problem that is compounded by acid rain and snow. The film highlights the EPA Superfund Program’s effort to clean up toxic mining waste in Leadville, Colorado, where children’s blood has been found to contain elevated levels of lead. Featuring interviews with Charles Wilkinson, law professor at CU Boulder, David Delcour, vice president of AMAX, along with scientists and environmentalists.

Broadcast History: Broadcast nationally on NOVA in January and May of 1990 and in May and December of 1992, with an estimated total audience of 25 million people.

Produced by Christopher McLeod and Robert Lewis. Written and Directed by Christopher McLeod.

“We are poisoning our water supply at the source,
the first civilization, probably, ever to have done that.”
— Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute