Alaska Mining Industry is Nation's 4th Largest Toxic Polluter

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Alaska Mining Industry is Nation's 4th Largest Toxic Polluter
By NAEC Staff
May 23, 2002, 08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mara Bacsujlaky, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, tel. 907-452-5021, ext. 28

EPA Report Highlights Need for Environmental Mining Reform to Protect Water Resources, Communities from Toxic Mine Waste

Fairbanks, AK – Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its 2000 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), an annual compendium of toxic chemicals released by industries in the United States. According to the EPA, Alaska ranked fourth in the nation for the largest total on-and off-site releases of chemicals in 2000. The four states – Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Alaska – were ranked highest due to toxic releases by mining facilities in those states. For the third consecutive year the hardrock mining industry is the nation’s largest toxic polluter: it released 3.3 billion pounds or 47% of all toxics released by U.S. industry.

Red Dog mine, in northwest Arctic, is Alaska’s largest polluter. In 2000 it produced 83% of the total toxics released in this state : 445 million pounds of 535 million pounds. Red Dog released 308 million pounds of zinc compounds and 123 million pounds of lead compounds to the environment – metals that are extremely toxic to humans, animals, and aquatic life. The Fort Knox gold mine, located 25 miles northeast of Fairbanks, ranked third, releasing a total of 20 million pounds of pollutants to the environment – including 220,000 pounds of cyanide compounds.

These figures reflect the mining industry’s threat to water resources in Alaska. Much of the toxics reported by the hardrock mining (gold, zinc, silver, copper, etc.) industry are contained within mine waste that is dumped in the open environment. Mine waste often leaches acidic solutions of toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and cadmium into surface and ground waters. According to EPA, 40% of the headwaters of western watersheds are polluted by mining. Alaska’s pristine waters must be protected from similar degradation by mine wastes.

“Red Dog releases so much lead, zinc and cadmium that it is impossible to believe that significant levels of these toxics are not leaching into surrounding waters.” said Mara Bacsujlaky, Assistant Director and Mining Coordinator at the Northern Alaska Environmental Center. “We are very concerned about the impacts to public health and the natural environment from this mine as well as from others in Alaska.”

The billions of pounds of toxics released by today’s hardrock mines highlights the flaws inherent in the General Mining Law, which has remained virtually unchanged since it was first passed in 1872 and which contains no environmental safeguards. Last week, Representatives Nick Rahall (D-WV), Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Jay Inslee (D-WA) introduced a new environmental mining reform bill, HR4748, the Mineral Exploration and Development Act of 2002. HR4748, which would replaced the 130-year old General Mining Law, would strictly regulate the disposal of toxic mine waste, and require the mining industry to abide by environmental performance standards that would protect surface and groundwater resources. It would also fund the cleanup of toxic pollution from past mining – a cost that is presently borne largely by taxpayers.

“This proposed Act is very important for the future of our water resources – especially here in Alaska where we still have the chance to protect our health and our environment from mining poisons”, said Bacsujlaky. “For three years now, the mining industry has topped the list in toxic releases. The TRI is the mining industry’s Love Canal – its definitely time for the mining industry to clean up its act,” she continued.

The TRI program was created in 1986 under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) in response to the toxic gas leaks in Bhopal, India and West Virginia. The purpose of the program is to provide citizens with vital information about the existence and the characteristics of pollutants produced or released into the environment in their communities.

TRI data can be obtained by visiting the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory Web site at www.epa.gov/tri/ or by contacting the Northern Alaska Environmental Center. Data contained in this year’s TRI report pertain to toxic releases that occurred in 2000.