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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1893 | 5 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 8 |
| 1904 | 16 |
| 1905 | 1 |
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| 1923 | 1 |
52 stories matching contamin
- The Mystery of the Curdled Cream
A Falls City dairyman and a professor clash over a strange bacterial contamination affecting local butter production.
- The Fight for Clean Water in Parkland
City officials take aim at sanitation hazards at Parkland College that have been contaminating the local water supply.
- City Moves to Protect Water from Clover Creek Pollution
Public Works Commissioner Clark orders the removal of privies and manure heaps threatening Tacoma's water supply.
- City Council Clashes Over Polluted Water Reports
A health officer's report alleging city water contamination sparks a heated confrontation with a city commissioner.
- The Hidden Killer in Tacoma's West End
A local health inspector finds a dairy operating in conditions 'too filthy for belief,' threatening a typhoid epidemic for families across the district.
- The Hidden Cost of Tacoma’s Water Crisis
While public officials downplay safety, local physicians warn that Clover Creek is contaminated by sewage and fueling a typhoid outbreak.
- City Health Official Sounds Alarm on Water Supply
Dr. Schug confirms that Parkland cesspools are poisoning Tacoma's drinking water, urging residents to boil their supply.
- South Tacoma’s Quest for Clean Water
City officials prepare to test new artesian wells, aiming to replace a water supply plagued by 'foul drainage' and contamination.
- Tacoma’s Water Crisis: Livestock and Ducks Contaminating the City's Supply
While citizens face water shortages and lawn sprinkling bans, city officials grapple with a public health dilemma where contaminated surface water is routinely mixed with pure well water.
- The Bread Wrapping War: Tacoma Women Take On City Hall
With 1,500 club members, city doctors and a health inspector behind them, Tacoma women demand that bakery bread be wrapped—and that dogs be barred from groceries.
- The Power Struggle at City Hall
Council debates, dance hall morality, and the influence of John Considine highlight the friction in 1893 Seattle government.
- City Water Supply Cleared of Typhoid Rumors
Local officials and the state health department address public anxiety following a small cluster of typhoid cases, confirming the city's water supply is safe.
- The Milk Adulteration Scandal
A Seattle dairyman is fined for using formaldehyde as a preservative in his milk supply.
- Stopping the Smut Explosions
Innovation in threshing technology saved Washington farmers from fire and financial ruin.
- The Fight for a 'Sober' Waterfront
Seattle City Council members battle over whether to permit saloons near city parks, clashing over the character of public space.
- The Yakima Valley's War-Time Dress Code
Facing high prices and looming war, local women’s clubs demand a standardization of fashion to cut costs.
- The Filthiest Place in Washington
A state health committee blames criminal negligence and unsanitary conditions for a deadly typhoid outbreak in North Yakima.
- The Bid to Harness Mount Tacoma’s Streams
A newly appointed city committee explores a proposal to pipe pure mountain water from the slopes of Mount Rainier to the city limits.
- The Fever Mystery in North Yakima
Local doctors clash with state officials over whether an outbreak is malaria or typhoid fever.
- The Hog Ranch That Stank Up Seattle: How One Interbay Farm Sparked a New Law
In 1900, a single hog ranch near the city’s water source forced the Seattle City Council to draft an ordinance limiting livestock—a rare early victory for urban sanitation and public health.
- The Nurse Girl and the Rat Poison
A thirteen-year-old girl stands trial for the poisoning of an infant in a case shrouded in domestic mystery.
- Typhoid Fears Reach Tacoma’s Water Supply
A fatality linked to the Clover Creek watershed raises alarms about the city's drinking water quality.
- The Typhoid Warning from Salem
Walla Walla is warned against the dangers of Mill Creek water after an epidemic in Salem, Oregon, exposes the failures of filtration.
- The Unreasonable Burden of Moral Regeneration
A bold editorial argument for women's suffrage, dismissing the 'degradation' objection and the notion that men need women to save them from their own vices.
- Tacoma’s Water Crisis and the Million-Dollar 'Steal'
A court injunction cuts off the city's primary water source, prompting fears of pestilence and highlighting a suspicious, debt-laden municipal purchase.
Also about this, in other words
- The Diphtheria Menace in Pioneer Seattle
A century and a half ago, Seattle residents faced a terrifying invisible contagion, with the newspaper urging 'sanitary' precautions that eerily mirror modern public health guidance.