Murderland

What It Covers

Author Caroline Fraser explores potential connections between industrial lead and arsenic pollution from ASARCO smelters in the Pacific Northwest and the region's concentration of serial killers during the 1970s-1980s peak.

Key Questions Answered

• •Lead exposure timing: Children exposed to lead from smelters and leaded gasoline in the 1960s-70s showed increased aggression and impulsivity 20 years later as young adults, correlating with the serial killer spike in that generation and geographic area.
• •Corporate accountability patterns: ASARCO executives calculated potential lawsuit payouts for lead-poisoned children against profit margins, choosing to continue operations rather than reduce emissions, demonstrating institutional psychopathy that mirrored individual criminal behavior in dismissing human harm.
• •Environmental crime correlation: Violent crime rates and serial killer activity dropped dramatically in the mid-1990s across developed nations after smelter closures in 1986 and the phase-out of leaded gasoline, suggesting environmental toxins played a measurable role.
• •Infrastructure design consequences: The Mercer Island Floating Bridge's bulge curve and reversible lane system caused decades of fatal accidents due to engineering hubris, yet litigation prevented fixes for 20 years until the bridge sank in 1989-90.