It’s unclear when exactly people began to realize that the processes used at the Hastings plant were toxic to the environment, but some employees in the 1960s became alarmed. Fred Danback, a former union president at Anaconda, took the company to court over this issue in 1972.
Ultimately, it was another by-product that would prove to be a more significant problem. PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were used on-site at Anaconda as an insulating agent for their copper cables. These chemicals saved lives during World War II by protecting our sailors from fire, but also led to the severe contamination of the Hastings waterfront.
For almost a century, factories were an integral part of the fabric of the village. At Anaconda’s height in 1945, it owned most of the Hastings waterfront and employed more than 2,000 workers. Over the next few decades, employment opportunities dropped steadily and by 1975, with just under 400 workers, the factory closed its doors for good. This marked the departure of the last major industry in Hastings.
Listen to Fred Danback’s account of how he blew the whistle on Anaconda in this 10-minute excerpt is from the Hastings Public Library’s Yesteryear: Stories from Home podcast.