The U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) operated from 1953 to 1979, when it was reorganized into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. HEW’s broad mandate was to oversee public health programs, social services, and educational initiatives at the federal level. While not directly a resource or commodities agency, its oversight of public health intersected with the medical and industrial uses of silver, particularly where federal programs set standards for healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.

Silver was long valued for its antimicrobial properties, and during HEW’s tenure, it played a role in hospital infection control and public health. The department oversaw the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulated silver-containing medical products such as wound dressings, catheters, and dental amalgams. HEW’s policies shaped how silver was approved for use in medicine, balancing its effectiveness as an antibacterial agent against concerns about toxicity and long-term exposure. Silver compounds were also reviewed for safety as part of pharmaceutical and water treatment standards under HEW’s authority.

More broadly, HEW’s work reflected the growing recognition of silver as a critical material in health and education infrastructure. Its regulatory framework helped standardize the use of silver in medical technology, ensured safe access to silver-based drugs (like silver nitrate in ophthalmology), and influenced how the U.S. healthcare system adopted advanced silver-based tools. Though HEW was dissolved in 1979, its legacy carried forward into modern regulatory approaches under HHS and FDA, cementing silver’s dual role as both a strategic industrial metal and a cornerstone of public health.