Spokane River’s Toxic Legacy | Spokane News

The Spokane River’s story is one of boom, bust, and resilience—shaped by railroads, gold rushes, and industrial giants like the Bunker Hill Mine, which left behind a toxic legacy. Today, nearly 80 million tons of contaminated sediment in Lake Coeur d’Alene threaten the river, with PCBs, PFAS, and heavy metals still clinging to sediments and bioaccumulating up the food chain. Despite decades of pollution, new efforts—including a 2014 citywide cleanup and recent state grants for PFAS research—are turning the tide, aiming to protect water, wildlife, and communities from the ghosts of industry past. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/2f3ed3c2cd36ab65