Citizens in the Salt Lake Valley (Utah) have been putting the pressure on Kennecott to reduce emissions at its coal-fired power plant, the largest source of airborne pollutants in an area with some of the worst air quality in the country. Recently, their efforts paid off and Kennecott will be converting the plant to burn natural gas. This, of course, carries with it problems, as well, but is seen by many citizens to be a step in the right direction (and one that likely wouldn’t have happened without an outraged public). Read the rest of this entry »
Kennecott Plans to Dump Toxic Amounts of Selenium Into Great Salt Lake
December 22, 2010
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Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, water pollution | Tagged: coal, Kennecott, natural gas, Rio Tinto, selenium, utah, water pollution | 
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Posted by LSMN
National Water Pollution on the Rise
March 3, 2010The latest from Charles Duhigg’s “Toxic Waters” series in the New York Times shows that, while Clean Water Act violations are rapidly rising, enforcement actions are declining at the same quick pace. Part of the problem comes from recent US Supreme Court decisions that have exempted many of the nation’s waterways from protection under the Clean Water Act.
Not many are getting the message. A recent editorial in the Minneapolis Star Tribune supporting PolyMet’s controversial NorthMet project claims that environmental laws are strong and are vigorously enforced. Only four days after the Tribune’s confident editorial, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a strong critique of the environmental review of PolyMet’s project, giving it the lowest possible rating, “environmentally unsatisfactory-inadequate,” and recommending the mine “must not proceed as proposed.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Homes Evacuated After Cliffs’ Rail Accident
February 12, 2010From Marquette, Michigan’s TV6:
A Canadian National Railroad locomotive and an LS&I Railroad made contact with a propane tank car at the LS&I Eagle Mills yard early Friday morning. Read the rest of this entry »
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Report Shows Kennecott Tailings Dam Could Fail
October 25, 2009From the Salt Lake Tribune:
Although those tailings could sweep across State Road 201 like a “violent and intense” flash flood in a 7.25-magnitude temblor, an independent investigation has determined that the slurry likely would stop before reaching any homes or buildings.
If a major earthquake strikes the Salt Lake Valley, Kennecott’s mine-tailings impoundment on the northern edge of Magna could fail and spill soupy sediment more than twice as far as the copper company had predicted.
In March 2008, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Kennecott Utah Copper had concealed, since 1988, the potential for a major earthquake-caused tailings disaster in Magna, Utah. The tailings impoundment is located north of Magna and stores an estimated 1 billion tons of fine mine wastes. In 1992, the company conducted a “risk assessment” to determine if full containment of the impoundment would be more expensive than legal costs associated with property damage and citizen deaths.
The Tribune published a 1997 confidential memo, written by Ray D. Gardner, former Chief Legal Officer for Kennecott, that is highly critical of the company’s handling of the potential tailings disaster: “Prior management’s decisions to disregard and conceal legal advice, forego public notice, attempt to establish a residential buffer surreptitiously, collude with the State Engineer to withhold the KL studies from the public, and restrict the distribution of the Reduction Study, collectively and individually, give the appearance of a conspiracy to cover-up a profound threat to public safety.” Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Uncategorized, water pollution, workers | Tagged: Kennecott, mine safety, Rio Tinto, water pollution, workers | Permalink
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Medical Doctors, Physicians Address Public Health Threats in Upper Peninsula
March 20, 2009by Gabriel Caplett
Marquette, Michigan – Current pollution from past chemical, mining and military operations were addressed alongside the potential for continued public health threats posed by coal power generation and mining activities, Thursday, at the Women’s Federated Clubhouse, in Marquette. The event, organized by the Great Lakes Health and Environment Action League (HEAL), featured presentations by area health professionals, toxicologists and university professors.
Event moderator, Gene Champagne, said the event was significant for many because public health concerns are “universal.”
“No one wants to be ill,” said Champagne. “We’re talking about the health, our own health, our parents, our children. That matters to everyone.” Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, water | Tagged: Health, Kennecott, Michigan, pollution, Rio Tinto, water, water pollution | Permalink
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Notes on the Rio Tinto plc AGM, Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, England
May 9, 2008by Richard Solly (London Mining Network organizer)
This report covers many but not all of the issues raised during questions on the company’s Annual Report and in some of the other items of business. Where several questions were asked about one area, they are reported together. The report was put together with the help of many of the people who attended the AGM.
For an hour before the AGM, there was an inspiring protest outside the Conference Centre, organised by Friends of the Earth, the Free West Papua Campaign and Partizans (People Against Rio Tinto and its Subsidiaries), with help from War on Want. West Papuan flags, illegal in Indonesia and its occupied territories, flapped in the strong wind, and West Papuan musicians sang and played music for the whole time as others handed out information leaflets from London Mining Network. Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | Eagle Mine, Health, human rights, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, water pollution, workers | Tagged: Eagle Mine, human rights, Kennecott, native american, Rio Tinto, water, water pollution, west papua | Permalink
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UP Citizens and KBIC Vice-President Address Rio Tinto Board in London
April 19, 2008by Gabriel Caplett
London, UK - Four citizens from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula attended Rio Tinto’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center (QEII), in London, England. Speakers included Susan LaFernier, vice-president of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), Gabriel Caplett from Yellow Dog Summer and Northwoods Wilderness Recovery, and Cynthia Pryor, from the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve. Fran Whitman, from Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK), attended but was unable to speak in front of the assembly.
To the crowd of roughly 300 shareholders and journalists, LaFernier addressed the threat to Native American ceded treaty rights with the US government, from 1842 and 1954 treaties. Rio Tinto chairman, Paul Skinner, interrupted LaFernier’s introduction, instructing the tribal leader to ask only one question, although a shareholder had just previously been able to ask three questions. Read the rest of this entry »
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Updates on Kennecott and Cameco
April 11, 2008by Gabriel Caplett
Tailings coverup/Uranium spills/Controversial Utah exploration/Salmon-Trout erosion/Aboriginal artifacts/New China partnership….
Kennecott under investigation for tailings cover-up
Kennecott is currently under investigation for covering-up, since 1988, the potential for a major earthquake-caused tailings disaster at the company’s tailings impoundment, in Magna, Utah. The impoundment holds roughly 1 billion tons of fine mine wastes.
Utah’s Dam Safety Inspector is siding with the company, although legislators, officials and the public are calling for an independent investigation, saying the company’s current data cannot be trusted.
The cover-up implicates the Utah State Engineer’s office and Kennecott officials, from 1988 up to the present. Read the rest of this entry »
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Kennecott Hides Potential for Deadly Tailings Disaster
March 23, 2008by Gabriel Caplett
Magna, Utah - The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Kennecott Utah Copper Corp. has concealed, since 1988, the potential for an earthquake-caused major tailings disaster in Magna, Utah. The tailings impoundment is located north of Magna and stores an estimated 1 billion tons of fine mine wastes. In 1992, the company conducted a “risk assessment” to determine if full containment of the impoundment would be more expensive than legal costs associated with property damage and citizen deaths.
The Tribune has published a 1997 confidential memo, written by Ray D. Gardner, former Chief Legal Officer for Kennecott, that is critical of the company’s handling of the potential tailings disaster: “Prior management’s decisions to disregard and conceal legal advice, forego public notice, attempt to establish a residential buffer surreptitiously, collude with the State Engineer to withhold the KL studies from the public, and restrict the distribution of the Reduction Study, collectively and individually, give the appearance of a conspiracy to cover-up a profound threat to public safety.” Read the rest of this entry »
5 Comments | Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, water pollution, workers | Tagged: Kennecott, mine safety, public health, Rio Tinto, water pollution, workers | Permalink
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Marquette County Adopts “Hazard Mitigation Plan”
January 27, 2008by Gabriel Caplett
The Marquette County Resource Management/Development Department completed a “Hazard Mitigation Plan” for the Marquette County Sheriff’s Department, Emergency Management Division. The plan, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), outlines areas of concern to local and regional law enforcement.
The comprehensiveness of the plan is debatable as it lacks any published citations to support its numerous claims. Perhaps one of the more misplaced and wild claims is that “Terrorism and Sabotage…” represent a significant risk to the County. The plan also lacks consideration of metallic sulfide and uranium mining as potential risks to groundwater supplies and public health in the area. Read the rest of this entry »
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