Taconite Mining

Taconite Mining

Taconite and the EnvironmentTaconite Mining:While researching the environmental records of various Taconite mines, the Sierra Club found that all 10 of the operating taconite mines in Michigan and Minnesota had serious, air and water violations. A survey of compliance records from 2004-2012 showed that modern taconite mines were chronic polluters that incurred fines and stipulations of over $10 million.

With contaminants such as mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, sulfates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides being released from mining tailings' waste dust, waste rock, ore transportation and ore processing, the air and water quality in northern Wisconsin could have been seriously polluted. Mining companies in Minnesota have faced serious issues with getting rid of the waste water from taconite mining plants. However, attempting to release recycled waste water into waterways around mining facilities can cause many problems for the surrounding aquatic environments. For example, increased Mercury levels in waste water can bioaccumulate in fish populations, and thus, endanger consumers who eat the fish. Waste water can also increase the temperature of the aquatic ecosystem, and this can cause problems for the animals that rely on these waterways. Not to mention, tailings and sediments in waste water also pollute waterways.

A Minnesota DNR report in 2003 found that taconite mining was the 2nd largest source of Mercury emissions after coal power plants. A taconite mine in Wisconsin would have been a new source of Mercury that would have further contaminated and poisoned our fish and wildlife. Considering that our waterways are already under advisories against consuming mercury contaminated fish, another source of Mercury pollution was something Wisconsin did not need.

Health Concerns: There are serious suspicions that taconite mining can lead to mesothelioma, a rare cancer that forms in the outer lining of the lungs linked to asbestos exposure. Since 2003, 52 cases of mesothelioma development in miners and their family members have been diagnosed. Although at least 13 were the result of asbestos product exposure, with only 3,000 cases diagnosed annually, those levels are extremely high. According to the University of Minnesota, the rate of mesothelioma is 70% higher in northern Minnesota than the rest of the country. The Minnesota Legislature committed millions of dollars to a University of Minnesota study of hundreds of miners and their spouses and thousands of death certificates for taconite workers to research the connection between taconite dust and mesothelioma. Dr. Jeff Mandel of the University of Minnesota said, "We wouldn't be up here if we didn't think there was a pretty good chance at a link."

Click here for more information on the Minnesota Taconite Workers Health Study:http://www.sph.umn.edu/research/highlights/taconite/Click here for a media release on the 2010 annual report on the study to the MN legislature:http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/Study-Update-Shows-Increase-In-Mesothelioma-Cases-117214413.html

Source: Wisconsin John Muir Chapter Sierra Club

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