Not in 1948.
These external costs are where government should have a role in preventing the costs from being borne by the general public. IMO, Attorneys General should be able to fill that role without federal or state EPAs.
This within a couple of miles of an old mine near Yellowknife, NWT, Canada.
![](https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/province/nwtznewz.gif)
![](https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/province/nwtna.gif)
Not exactly the area of the EPA's jurisdiction, even if it had been formed yet.