Hundreds of Tampa Employees Exposed to Lead

In March 2021, the Tampa Bay Times uncovered the horrors of a Tampa smelting plant, owned by Gopher Resource, that has exposed hundreds of its employees to lead poisoning at astronomical levels for many years.

They say the lead in the air is so prevalent that it looks like a cloud of smoke looms over workers. The levels of these toxins are so high — 100 times higher than federal limits — that even the company-issued respirators can not filter them out.

Lead exposure causes various irreversible medical conditions, such as heart disease and cardiovascular effects, especially at the extreme levels like at Gopher Resource.

But the worst part is that employees may be unknowingly poisoning their children and families by tracking the lead-laced dust home on their clothing or shoes.

Any lead in a child is harmful, but many of the children of these workers often have highly elevated levels of lead in their bloodstream, which can cause pain and developmental delays.

With this amount of lead in the workplace, it would be next to impossible for these employees not to contaminate their families.

Gopher Resource knew about this problem but chose to turn a blind eye to this deadly situation. Instead of protecting their employees, they disabled ventilation features that captured fumes, putting the employees and their families in even greater danger.

They have no regard for their employees’ safety and well-being, picking profit over protecting workers' health and safety!!

These hardworking employees are simply trying to earn a living but are being seeped with toxins in the process.

They deserve better! We helped the kids in Flint, and now we must help these children.

Sign our petition to speak out on Gopher Resource’s gross negligence.

We must hold them responsible for their dangerous working conditions!