More pollution in the Columbia River, BC

[Bob]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Trail_Bridge_Columbia_River.jpg

Up in Trail on the Columbia river where Salmon and other fish are part of a vast eco-system, a company called TECK has confirmed that it has spilled (again), a dangerous pH altering chemical, Sodium Hydroxide into the River.

"Spokesman Richard Deane for the company says the solution was accidentally drained to a domestic sewage plant leading to the river instead of getting treated.

"The spill comes less than two weeks after Teck was for the second consecutive year named one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations for 2014 by media and investment research company Corporate Knights."

"But despite the recognition, Teck’s history has been blighted with spills in the very same river, and the resulting legal consequences.

"The company is currently is facing a class-action lawsuit in the United States on allegations unrelated to this spill that its smelter in Trail has polluted the Columbia River.

"A Washington state judge has ruled that Teck is liable for the costs of cleaning up contamination in the Columbia River south of the border from decades of dumping slag and effluent from the company’s Trail operations.

"Teck was levied $210,000 in fines by a B.C. court—are to blame for her breast cancer and other health problems.

"In July 2013, Teck Resources president and chief executive Donald Lindsay announced the company was ramping up its cost-cutting efforts due to plunging commodity prices effecting most of its products."

ref: http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/general/teck-confirms-another-chemical-spill-in-the-columbia-river-131547?utm_source=CMO&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CMO-EN02032014&e=1v1M3s0q27W6x08yM2vx and

numerous Google Search pages:
https://www.google.com/search?q=teck+trail+spills&oq=teck+trail+spills

http://northportproject.com/impact-of-teck-smelter-to-washington-community/teck-smelters-timeline-of-pollution/ - TECK Smelter's Timeline of Pollution

-- 1933 - air pollution damaging crops
-- 1940 - dumping toxins into the River
-- 1980 - massive amounts of slag dumped
-- 1981 - massive amounts of mercury had been dumped into the River for indeterminate period of time
-- 1989 - fines for violating dumping limits
-- 1990 - massive sulfuric acid release
-- 1991 - toxic amounts of Cadmium and Zinc
-- 1992 - more sulfuric acid being dumped into the River
-- 1992 - massive spill of 187 pounds of mercury released into the environment, plus sulfur dioxide
-- 1994 - substantial amounts of toxins found in the mud in the River downstream from Trail, BC
-- 1995 - massive 1000 gallons release of sulfuric acid, plus increasing accumulation of mercury found
-- 1996 – Teck’s records show an average daily discharge of: 40 pounds of lead, 135 pounds of cadmium, 9 pounds of mercury and more than 16,000 pounds of zinc.
-- 1997 – The Colville Confederate Tribe completes a study regarding the impact of Teck’s century of discharging heavy metal toxins may have had on their environment and human health.

The reports concludes that between 1994-1997 Teck’s discharges of arsenic, cadmium and lead equal more than the discharges of ALL the zinc and lead smelters combined through-out the United States.

Just to make sure the readers understand the above comment it warrants repeating – one Smelter’s (Teck’s) discharge for three years was more than the discharge released over those same three years by all of the United Smelters combined.

-- 1998 – Teck reports an accidental spill of 3.4 tons of slag into the River
-- 2004- Records, released by the Canadian B.C. Ministry, estimate that Teck has been dumping approximately 1.6 tons – 3.6 tons of mercury annually into the river since 1940. This IS horrendous !

-- 2008 – Teck records a spill of 2,068 pounds of lead and 420 quarts of acid
-- 2010 – Teck spills approx. 15kg of mercury into the river when there is a leak while employees are working on pipes at the facility.

Mercury is a highly toxic metal that, in sufficient doses, can cause neurological damage in developing fetuses.

[Bob]

Some pictures of the Smelter -


http://www.vancouversun.com/business/resources/cms/binary/7096685.jpg

http://i.cbc.ca/1.1197977.1378721466!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/hi-bc-120814-teck-trail-8col.jpg
next to the River


http://northportproject.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/20080108_teck_cominco.jpg

http://seattletimes.com/ABPub/2008/01/07/2004112749.gif

[Bob]

Shown in this map is the traverse of the Columbia River, from up in BC, Canada, through Washington State, finally exiting to the Pacific Ocean at Astoria (Oregon).

The Columbia and its tributaries have been central to the region's culture and economy for thousands of years. They have been used for transportation since ancient times, linking the many cultural groups of the region. The river system hosts many species of anadromous fish, which migrate between freshwater habitats and the saline Pacific Ocean. These fish —especially the salmon species —provided the core subsistence for natives; in past centuries, traders from across western North America traveled to the Columbia to trade for fish. (wiki).

Many key cities use the water, from the hydroelectric Dam at Grand Coulee (and subsequent fishing in the reservoir lake Roosevelt), Wenatchee, Kennewick, Richmond, and Portland.


Numerous dams are placed on the river, and the tributaries - in the lakes and reservoirs behind the dams, sediments can contain the pollutants.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Columbia_dams_map.png/899px-Columbia_dams_map.png

Map Legend showing the Dam names:


http://chanlo.com/images/columbiadam-1.jpg
http://chanlo.com/images/columbiadam-2.jpg
http://chanlo.com/images/columbiadam-3.jpg

[Bob]

Toxic metals releases from Teck into the Columbia River -

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/dangermat/cadmium.html - CADMIUM (Washington State Department of Ecology)
"Cadmium damages the kidneys, lungs, and bones. The primary adverse health effects are lung cancer and kidney damage. Others show reduced pulmonary function and chronic lung disease, indicative of emphysema. Acute exposure can be fatal."

"Cadmium is one of six soon-to-be-banned substances in the European Union (EU). Phase-outs in the EU affect trade for Washington businesses that may use cadmium in their product. The Department of Ecology is working to help Washington businesses remain competitive in the international marketplace."

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/dangermat/lead.html - LEAD (Washington State Department of Ecology)
" Being exposed to lead are at risk of lead poisoning, and can cause lead poisoning among family members.

"Workers can unknowing carry hazardous substances home, exposing their families and causing various health effects.

"The long-term effects of lead exposure are irreversible and are much more damaging to children than to adults. Most cases of childhood lead poisoning are caused by paint, house dust, and contaminated soil in the home and neighborhood, however children exposed to their parent's lead-contaminated skin, shoes and clothing from work and hobbies are at greater risk than other children. Young children are most at risk from lead exposure, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream, soft tissue, and bones and teeth, where it breaks down extremely slowly.

"Workplace or recreational exposure causes most cases of adult lead poisoning. Lead dust or fumes are created when lead-based paint is dry scraped, dry-sanded, or heated during renovation or maintenance. Dust also forms when painted surfaces bump or rub together through normal use. Lead chips and dust can get on surfaces and objects that people touch. Settled dust can re-enter the air when people vacuum, sweep, or walk through it. Any workers regularly exposed to lead dust need regular blood lead screenings."

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/mercury/index.html - MERCURY (Washington State Department of Ecology)
"Mercury is highly dangerous. Persistent, bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs) are a distinct group of chemicals that threaten the health of people and the environment. Examples of PBTs include methylmercury, PCBs, DDT and dioxin. These types of toxic chemicals are considered the "worst of the worst" and raise special challenges for our society and the environment."

"Mercury (and mercury compounds):
-- They remain in the environment for a long time without breaking down (persistent).

-- Animals and people accumulate PBTs in their bodies. As these chemicals move up the food chain, they increase in concentration, and linger for generations in people and the environment (bio-accumulate) meaning that they DO NOT CLEAR from the body.

-- Exposure to PBTs has been linked to a wide range of toxic effects in fish, wildlife, and humans, including effects on the nervous system, reproductive and developmental problems, immune-response suppression, cancer, and endocrine disruption (toxic).

-- PBTs can travel long distances and generally move easily between air, water and land, spanning boundaries of programs, geography, and generations.

Zinc is toxic to fish and other aquatic life - Zinc Sulfate (zinc plus sulfuric acid reactant) is HIGHLY TOXIC to freshwater (River) fish and invertebrates

Zinc metal and Sulfuric acid (toxic pollutants released by Teck) - Zinc Sulfate is a reactant considered a "zinc salt" - extreme toxicity to moss in plants. (Moss is eaten by fish, small animals and larger animals (deer), grows on wet rocks near the River.) Zinc sulfate ingestion can lead to nausea, metallic taste, stomach ache, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. Breathing in zinc sulfate can irritate the respiratory tract, cause nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, dizziness, depression, metallic taste in the mouth, and death. Exposure by skin contact can damage the skin leading to ulcers, blisters and scarring. Zinc sulfate can cause severe eye irritation, resulting in redness and pain.

[Bob]

Subsistence fish consumption upper Columbia river

from http://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/Pubs/334-317.pdf - A study - Human Health Evaluation of Contaminants in Upper Columbia River Fish
Prepared August 2012
by:
The Washington State Department of Health
Division of Environmental Public Health
Office of Environmental Health, Safety, and Toxicology
Olympia, Washington


What is significant in this report -

As part of the EPA investigation, DOH was responsible for conducting a human health assessment (this document). Our assessment evaluated 2,300 fish samples to determine if consuming fish from the UCR posed a human health risk. These fish samples were collected from six sampling areas within a 150 mile stretch between the U.S./Canada border and the Grand Coulee Dam.

They evaluated data on 385 chemicals from the fish tissue of nine species, which included: burbot, kokanee, lake whitefish, largescale sucker, longnose sucker, mountain whitefish, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, and walleye. The fish tissue was also evaluated and compared with regional, statewide, and commercially available fish from other studies.

Of the 385 chemical contaminants evaluated, they narrowed their focus to five chemicals of concern using a screening process using two different consumption rates - one for the general population and one for subsistence fishers. (Tribal members relying on FISH from the River as a key food source)

The screening process lead to further evaluation of only a few chemicals of concern: mercury, PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), and dioxins.

Of these chemicals, mercury is the main contaminant of concern in fish in the UCR and PCBs were found at levels of health concern in largescale sucker.

OF EVERY FISH TESTED for SUBSISTENCE fishing (and consumption) each has shown levels HIGHER than minimal safe levels for consumption.

They had a caveat statement in their report:

"While eating fish regularly is recommended [..] (at reduced levels), Mercury and PCBs were found at high enough levels in some fish to warrant fish consumption recommendations to reduce exposure. "

Warning - Northern pikeminnow do not eat

Also, everyone should limit consumption of largescale sucker to [no more than] four meals per month.

In Appendix A, ALL FISH that are consumed for substance level consumption are considered containing toxins in excess of warning levels.

Fish species tested
--Burbot
--Kokanee
--Largescale Sucker (with and without skin - skin contains higher concentrations of toxins)
--Mt Whitefish
--Rainbow Trout
--Sculpin
--Walleye
--Smallmouth Bass
--Northern Pikeminnow
--Longnose Sucker

DOH issued a Washington statewide fish consumption advisory for women of childbearing age and young children based on elevated levels of mercury in various commercially bought fish as well as freshwater bass caught for recreation.

In mammals, most organic mercury compounds are readily absorbed by ingestion and appear in the lipid fraction of blood and brain tissue. Organic mercury readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and also crosses the placenta. Fetal blood mercury levels are equal to or higher than maternal levels. Methylmercury also appears in human milk. Organic mercury compounds are most toxic in the central nervous system and may also affect the kidneys and immune system.

Methylmercury is toxic to the cerebral and cerebellar cortex in the developing brain and is a known teratogen (an agent which can cause a birth defect). In Minamata Bay, Japan, mothers who were exposed to high amounts of mercury but were asymptomatic gave birth to severely affected infants. The infants often appeared normal at birth but developed psychomotor retardation, blindness, deafness, and seizures over time.

The report also mentions, that in 1971, the sole U.S. producer of PCBs was Monsanto Chemical Company.

[Griff]

I was born in Trail B.C. in 1961. My father worked at the Cominco lead and zinc smelter from 1920 to 1962. My family moved back to eastern Canada in '62 when my father retired, so I don't remember anything about Trail myself, but I can relate this story from my mother:

When she first moved there in 1959, she wanted to "pretty up" my Dad's house by planting flowers in flower beds she had dug up around the house. Nothing she planted would grow. Started plants would wilt with a week and die within a month. She had better luck planting window boxes with fresh potting soil, but even then, flowers would not last a full summer. Grass would not grow on our "lawn" which really consisted of grey packed earth. When it rained or snowed, often there would be a film of grey or yellow-grey dust left on everything.

It was an extremely unhealthy environment, even by the standards of the day. I'm amazed my Dad could have lived there for over four decades. Sadly, he passed away from a heart attack in 1963 and never got to enjoy his retirement.

The environmental disaster that is the city of Trail and the Columbia River is truly criminal. Sadly, it is obvious that Teck Minerals will never have to pay the price of its actions, despite its' very deep pockets.

Griff

[Bob]

Thank you Griff for the first hand report and background.

[Bob]

http://teck.com/res/tc/images/images/banner%20photos/small%20banner/2013-2014/products-pe-pd_mg_2806.png

Teck explains itself - that it maintains responsibility

ref: http://teck.com/Generic.aspx?PAGE=Teck+Site/Responsibility&portalName=tc

"Responsibility

"Teck is committed to responsible resource development.

"We are focused on operating sustainably, ensuring the health and safety of our people, and building strong relationships with communities.

Safety: Safety is a core value at Teck, and our vision is to ensure that: “Everyone Goes Home Safe and Healthy Every Day.”

Sustainability: We recognize that our success depends on our ability to build collaborative relationships with stakeholders and protect and enhance the environment in the areas where we operate.

Community Investment: We support the communities where we operate so they genuinely benefit from their relationship with us.

We also engage in global citizenship to support children in communities around the world through our Zinc & Health initiative."

Safety and Health

Safety is a core value at Teck, and we believe it is possible to work without injuries.


http://ir0.mobify.com/project-oss-teck-com/webp/1536/http://teck.com/res/tc/images/images/banner%20photos/banner-1000x332/retina-dm_main.jpg

Teck is Canada’s largest diversified resource company, committed to responsible mining and mineral development with major business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc and energy.

Projects:

-- Steelmaking Coal - Active Operations: Cardinal River, Coal Mountain, Elkview, Fording River, Greenhills, Line Creek

-- Copper - Active Operations: Highland Valley Copper, Antamina, Quebrada Blanca, Carmen de Andacollo, Duck Pond

-- Zinc - Active Operations: Trail, Red Dog

-- Oil Sands - Development Projects: Fort Hills, Frontier

Trail Operations

Teck’s Trail Operations, located in British Columbia, include one of the world’s largest fully integrated zinc and lead smelting and refining complexes and the Waneta hydroelectric dam and transmission system. The metallurgical operations produce refined zinc and lead, a variety of precious and specialty metals, chemicals and fertilizer products.

(Note: the website didn't seem to explain that Teck takes care to protect the environment, and the rest of the communities, the eco-system downstream from it's smelter. As to studies about environmental damage, from run-off from mining operations there is no current data in their website showing that the environment has been protected.)

[Bob]

Teck Zinc Operations - RED DOG mine project

The company's Red Dog mine operation in north-western Alaska has been ranked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as one of the most polluting facilities in the United States based on output tonnage of toxic waste, largely (over 99%)in the form of blasted and moved, but otherwise unprocessed, waste rock from mining operations.

Residents living downstream from the mine recently launched a lawsuit against Teck Cominco, demanding that the Red Dog mine complies with its environmental obligations and that it pay fines for continuing to violate its water permit requirements.

After a long running court case filed by Washington state’s Native American Colville Confederated Tribes over environmental damage from smelter effluents, Teck Resources confessed to polluting the upper reaches of the Columbia River for nearly a century.

(The company "Cominco " started operations in 1906, as The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, formed by the amalgamation of several units controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Teck began as Teck-Hughes Gold Mines Limited in 1913, to develop a gold discovery by prospectors Sandy McIntyre and James Hughes at Kirkland Lake, Ontario. The merger, between Teck and Cominco began in 1986, when Teck and two industry partners acquired a shareholding from CP Limited, and culminated with the merging of the two companies in July 2001.)

The Colville Confederated Tribes filed a lawsuit against Teck in 2004 (culminating in 2012) (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/colville-tribes-win-long-running-environmental-lawsuit-against-teck-metals-183585251.html)claiming the company had dumped 140,000 tons of slag directly into the river, polluting the surface water, ground water and sediment of the upper Columbia River and Lake Roosevelt with hazardous metals including arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead, copper and zinc. The company dragged out the lawsuit, forever appealing until finally the CCT won. Whether or not Teck pays damages is yet to be seen.

Divisions
Teck Metals Ltd.(since July 20, 2001, Vancouver)
Teck Cominco Peru S.A (Lima)
Minera Torre de Oro, S.A. de C.V (Mexico)

Recent spill in the Red Dog Mine, AK -
Cominco Alaska Inc. began operations of a lead and zinc mine at their Red Dog location near the northwest coast of Alaska in November, 1989.
Since startup, it has been noted that the snowmelt and rainwater runoff through the open mine area have caused increased heavy metal concentrations in Red Dog Creek.

ref: http://reddogalaska.com/

TECK claims "Commitments to Excellence"
http://reddogalaska.com/Generic.aspx?PAGE=Red+Dog+Site%2fEnvironment&portalName=tc

"A commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability

"Teck Alaska Incorporated’s operating practices at Red Dog Operations are governed by Teck Resources Limited’s Charter of Corporate Responsibility, Code of Sustainable Conduct and the company’s overriding commitment to operate in a socially just, environmentally responsible and economically sound way.

"At Teck, the pursuit of sustainability drives our approach to business. Teck’s sustainability strategy has five components that drive its performance: corporate governance; generating wealth and prosperity; demonstrating excellence in safety, health and environmental performance; driving technological innovation and resource stewardship; and fostering sustainable communities.

"Teck is proud to be a recent signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and supports its core value areas on human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption."