EPA says Red Dog Mine failed to identify hazardous waste for over 4 years

A highlighted outer position of nan Red Dog Mine (Courtesy Google, Airbus, Maxar Technologies)

The Environmental Protection Agency announced a colony this week with nan operators of nan Red Dog Mine for astir 2 twelve hazardous discarded violations. Records show that Red Dog Mine grounded to place hazardous discarded successful its laboratory for complete 4 years.

Teck Alaska, Inc. operates nan mine, 1 of nan world’s largest producers of lead and zinc located astir 80 miles northbound of Kotzebue.

In June, Teck agreed to salary nan EPA complete $429,794 for hazardous discarded violations spanning from October 2019 until January 2024. EPA representatives said those past 4 years magnitude to nan largest hazardous discarded usurpation successful nan mine’s much than 30 years of operating.

An inspection successful 1995 revealed violations of a lesser nature. In that case, nan 2 parties reached an informal solution without immoderate penalties for Teck. According to nan EPA, it is nan 4th caller usurpation involving Alaska mines; nan others progressive golden mines.

A typical from nan EPA said that those 20 counts outlined in a consent statement betwixt nan EPA and Teck include Teck’s nonaccomplishment to identify, store, and dainty hazardous waste, arsenic good arsenic a nonaccomplishment to decently notify and study hazardous worldly to nan EPA. The agency said that these are “serious violations.”

Kevin Schanilec, a hazardous discarded compliance serviceman for nan EPA, said while location person been nary identified effects connected humans aliases nan situation from nan violations, location could person been.

“Acids were stored successful containers and a tank; they weren’t labeled,” Schanilec said. “If personification didn’t cognize what was successful that container, they mightiness person done thing pinch it, aliases if it sewage spilled, group wouldn’t person known what was successful nan container.”

The EPA has what’s informally referred to arsenic a “cradle to grave” argumentation for handling hazardous discarded done the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. According to Schanilec, a mine’s laboratory – which was wherever nan violations occurred – represents nan cradle broadside of a mine’s discarded stream. These areas are utilized chiefly to measure halfway samples to find their concentrations of peculiar metals.

A typical from nan mining institution wrote successful an emailed connection that nan violations were owed to a “different mentation of EPA requirements for identifying, storing and disposing” of nan lab’s sample residuals. “These residuals went done a curen process successful accordance pinch our licence and regulations and had nary antagonistic biology impact. Teck is updating its operational procedures to align pinch EPA’s guidance. For context, little than 200 grams of coagulated residuals per period are generated which is astir nan weight of 80 pennies,” nan typical wrote.

But Schanilec said that isn’t wholly accurate.

“The magnitude of discarded successful mobility was specified that, had Teck notified america arsenic is required nether nan regulations, they would person been a class successful a higher class of discarded procreation that exceeds 1,000 kilograms (2,204 pounds) per month,” Schanilec said. “So nan magnitude of wastes successful mobility were overmuch greater successful weight than a stack of pennies.”

The EPA verified that Teck had paid nan astir $430,000 punishment for nan violations. The agency said nan institution has until June 2025 to guarantee that their laboratory’s vessel and associated piping wherever hazardous discarded is stored is cleanable and does not person nan imaginable to contaminate nan environment.