The right to know

The mining industry, while perhaps not the most important sector of the economy, generates more than US$500 billion in total economic benefits each year and helps to sustain nearly 5 million jobs in the United States. But Americans are now reading headlines announcing that the industry is the “top toxics polluter,” particularly in the western states. The industry has responded by taking steps to inform the public about the difference between mining releases and those of other industries, and how mining companies manage materials at their mine sites.

The attention-grabbing headlines were triggered when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for the first time, released data from mining companies as reported under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) provisions of the Emergency Planning/Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

TRI lists nearly 650 chemicals and substances that a company must report if it releases any of them into the environment above a threshold amount. A “release” under TRI isn’t limited to emissions to the air or discharges to water. It also includes materials that are placed on land for storage or management.

The overwhelming majority of what mining companies have reported are TRI-listed substances that occur naturally in waste rock or in processed rock that is moved, treated, stored and managed by the mine. The chemicals reported on the mining industry’s TRI forms do not necessarily pose a risk to the public and the environment; still, the nature of the reporting has triggered media reports that have alarmed local communities and the general public.

Richard Lawson, president of the National Mining Association (NMA), says the mining industry supports the public’s right to know the information gathered by the EPA’s program. However, he also believes the industry must ensure that the information is presented in the proper context so as not to alarm and confuse the public.

The EPA too, has tried to educate the public that the TRI/EPCRA program is a weight-based report and not designed to evaluate risk. The agency states: “Some high-volume releases of less toxic chemicals may appear to be a more serious problem than lower-volume releases of highly toxic chemicals, when just the opposite may be true. Release estimates alone are not sufficient to determine exposure or to calculate potential adverse affects on human health and the environment.”

Despite the EPA’s caution, there is a persistent misconception that mining’s “toxic” releases pose significant risks to people and the environment. To offset this, the NMA stresses that while the reports filed by mining companies do not differ in structure from reports filed in other industries, the nature of the releases reflected in the reports is different. The activities of moving, storing, processing and managing substantial quantities of rock are defined as “releases” under TRI, which means that the quantities of releases reported by mining will be greater for certain inorganic metal compounds than those from other industrial facilities. Typically, 85 to 99% of what metals mines report is the large quantity of naturally occurring inorganic metals that remain in low concentration in ordinary rock that is moved, stored, processed and managed at the mine site.

The NMA wants the public to know that this material is safely contained in engineered managed facilities, that appropriate technologies are used in the design and operation of mines to protect the environment, and that the substances are managed by employees trained to handle them.

Mining companies are also doing their part to help educate local communities about the nature of the substances included in their reports. However, much work remains to be done to ensure that urban populations far removed from mining are informed. If they are not, public support for mining could be eroded in the years ahead.

Environmental protection is an important public concern, and will continue to be for decades to come. It is unfortunate that some environmental groups have inadvertently perpetuated the notion that nature is pristine and free of all toxic substances. Many people have been taught to fear naturally occurring substances based on the flawed premise that nature untouched by humans is static and sterile.

The reality is that the earth is composed of many substances, including considerable amounts of naturally occurring “toxic” substances that should be respected, not feared. Even cyanide occurs naturally in such things as apricot pits and certain other plant life. Understanding nature’s diversity is an enriching experience, and clearly, the NMA’s efforts, along with public education initiatives launched by mining companies, will contribute to that understanding.