The allegations that ASARCO illegally burned hazardous waste in its El Paso, Texas smelter in the 1990s are not true.

The allegations relate to a practice by the smelter in the early 1990’s to recycle copper-bearing materials with concentrate feedstock for the recovery of copper metal. Prior to recycling the material, ASARCO discussed the process with the State of Texas, which determined that this blended material was equivalently the same as traditional copper concentrates. ASARCO ended the practice in 1997 when the U.S. EPA questioned whether the material had sufficient copper content to qualify for recycling. When questioned, the Company immediately stopped the practice and entered into a consent decree with EPA and the State of Texas in 1999 that governed future smelting operations. This decree, approved by a federal court after public notice and comment, received substantial news coverage at the time.