March 3, 2010
The 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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Health, Law, Minnesota, PolyMet, lake superior, water pollution | Tagged: lake superior, Law, Minnesota, PolyMet, public health, water pollution | 
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Posted by LSMN
April 19, 2008
by 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 »
Leave a Comment » | Eagle Mine, Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Wisconsin, human rights, indigenous, workers | Tagged: Eagle Mine, Kennecott, mine safety, native american, public health, Rio Tinto, west papua, workers | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
April 11, 2008
by 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 »
Leave a Comment » | China, Eagle Mine, Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, cameco, economy, indigenous, uranium, water pollution | Tagged: cameco, indigenous, Kennecott, mine safety, public health, Rio Tinto, uranium, water pollution | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
March 23, 2008
by 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 »
4 Comments | Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, water pollution, workers | Tagged: Kennecott, mine safety, public health, Rio Tinto, water pollution, workers | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
January 27, 2008
by 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 »
Leave a Comment » | Eagle Mine, Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Minnesota, cameco, uranium, water | Tagged: cameco, Eagle Mine, Kennecott, Michigan, public health, Rio Tinto, uranium, yellow dog plains | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
December 16, 2007
by Gabriel Caplett
In November, 2007, Dow Chemical reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a dioxin concentration of 1.6 million parts per trillion (ppt) in river-bottom sediment adjacent Wickes Park, in Saginaw, MI. This represents the most concentrated amount of dioxins in the Saginaw River since testing began in 1978 and is the single highest level of dioxin ever reported to the EPA. The highest level previously found in the Saginaw River measured much less, at 32,000ppt.
Dioxin is a dangerous toxin affecting the nervous and reproductive systems, causes numerous cancers and also affects childhood and fetal development. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Health, Law, Michigan, water pollution | Tagged: deq, Dow Chemical, Law, Michigan, public health, water pollution | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
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