Flume Carrying Untreated Wastes ... at The International Paper Company Mill at Jay, photograph by Charles Steinhacker, Jay, Maine, ca. 1973. Courtesy of the National Archives
Flume Carrying Untreated Wastes ... at The International Paper Company Mill at Jay, photograph by Charles Steinhacker, Jay, Maine, ca. 1973. Courtesy of the National Archives
For decades citizens of Jay and neighboring Livermore Falls tolerated the International Paper Company polluting their air and the Androscoggin River. This photograph is a part of the United States Environmental Protection Agency collection at the National Archives. The photographer documented sludge being dumped into the water.
One wife of a papermaker said "[y]ou knew how much they polluted our air and our water . . . [but] after a while you think it's your husband's paycheck...and you take it." During the strike, however, community members raised the issue of IP's pollution to government agencies.