Braga, A.L.F, L.A.A. Pereira, M. Procopio, P.A. deAndre, and
P.H.D. Saldiva. 2007. Association between air pollution and respiratory and
cardiovascular diseases in Itabira, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. CADERNOS DE SAUDE PUBLICA 23:
570-578. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-311X2007001600017&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt
Ghaffari, H. 2012. Ajax Copper/Gold Project- Kamloops,
British Columbia Feasibility Study Technical Report. Wardrop, Vancouver,
British Columbia. <http://www.amemining.com/i/pdf/2012_01_06_Feasibility_Study_Ajax.pdf
>
Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA). 2012. Stop
Ajax Mine. <http://www.stopajaxmine.ca/home>
Koopmans, R. 2011. Ajax will forever change the Jacko Lake
grasslands. Kamloops Daily News. < http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20110730/KAMLOOPS23/110729814/-1/kamloops23/ajax-will-forever-change-the-jacko-lake-grasslands>
The truth. It is something that the residents of Kamloops
are entitled to when it comes to the events that could soon be affecting
everyday aspects of life; however, it feels as though we are being kept in the
dark about some aspects of the proposed Ajax copper-gold mine. The Ajax mine will cover approximately 2500
hectares of prime grassland area just outside of Kamloops for a lifespan of 23
years (Ghaffari, 2012). The main concerns associated with the mine proposal are
the possible health, environmental, and economic effects. Ajax claimed that the mine would be 10km from
the city. In truth, some parts, including waste rock management, truck stops,
and tailings plant/storage facilities would be within city limits (figure 1;
KAPA, 2012). In fact, there are elementary schools, senior’s residences, and
residential housing that are only 2km away from the mine (KAPA, 2012).
Figure 1. A map of the proposed Ajax copper-gold mine in
Kamloops, B.C (KAPA, 2012).
Ajax claimed that dust will not be a problem. However, Bob
Hamaguchi, Highland Valley Copper's retired environmental engineer, was quoted
saying, “Dust has always been an issue at Highland Valley Copper… there were
days you could hardly breathe” (Koopman, 2011). So what would Ajax be doing differently?
There is a frightening lack of literature on the possible health risks
associated with living in close proximity to mines. In a paper by Braga et al. (2007), the researchers investigated the effect of fine particulate
matter (or dust) on respiratory and cardiovascular health of the citizens
living in close proximity to an ore pit mine in Brazil. The results showed a
startling 4% increase in hospital visits for children less than 13 years of age
and adults between 45-64 years of age, while adolescents 13-19 years of age
showed an even higher 12% increase. Scarier still, measurable levels of
aluminum, arsenic, manganese, chromium, strontium, and uranium can be present
in ore and waste rock (Ghaffari, 2012).
If this isn’t bad enough, the mine is to be built on 2500
hectares of grassland, an ecosystem that is in serious danger and now, makes up
less than 1% of British Columbia land area. The area is also home to many
endangered and at risk species that may never recover from a disturbance this great
(Koopmans, 2012).
On the other hand, those that are for the building of the
Ajax mine can see the potential income it would bring to the city. It is
proposed that the mine would provide up to 400 jobs, not including those that
would be employed during construction. However, what some people may not know
is that the ore will be shipped overseas for processing, which is income the
city of Kamloops will not see. Also, with the instability of copper prices,
there is always the possibility that copper prices could decline and the mine
would shut down (KAPA, 2012).
When you combine all the detrimental effects the mine will
have on the health of Kamloop’s citizens and the surrounding environment, do
the benefits really outweigh the costs? These are just some of the facts; but
as citizens of Kamloops, it is our responsibility to look at the facts and stay
informed about matters happening in our city.
Words: 522
Very interesting/ scary! Those health effects that you mentioned are fairly significant. It would be interesting to find out exactly how they are planning on reducing the amount of dust. Do you know why they are planning on shipping the copper overseas??
ReplyDeleteMy guess would be that it is cheaper to pay people in places like Asia that have low minimum wages, almost non-existent labour laws, and weak labour unions than it would be to set up smelters in areas like Canada, where the opposite tends to be true of the mining industry. The environmental toll of transport (likely shipping) is a completely different matter entirely.
DeleteYou make some excellent points. I think we should be glad, however, that they plan to ship overseas. The last thing I would want is a smeltering plant near Kamloops which would add to the pollution coming from the mine dust. The health concerns to citizens and our ecosystems (both agricultural and natural) is a very serious subject. My feeling is not enough due diligence has been done by the mining company in this respect. The insight from Highland Valley Copper is very significant and if they have trouble with dust how can AJAX claim they can reduce it to safe levels.
ReplyDeleteI looked up and article from the CDC (which is on my blog if you wanted to look it up) that gives the measures a mine would go through to keep dust down but their article also states that these protocols for dust management can only minimize this. Therefore the mining dust is just scary.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you got into the background story first and then commented using an example of a mine already in Canada. I enjoyed reading your blog and can't wait to read it again in two weeks.
-Christina Bagg
I also read about the shipping over seas which seems to be counter productive on the companies behalf I think. I really was taken aback by the stats that you brought in about the health issue increases! Do you know why the 13-19 year olds had such a massive increase?? That seems odd to me and scary !!
ReplyDeleteHmm, well I wonder if we are already experiencing heightened levels of particulate matter from the Highland Valley Copper mine, can we afford more from this new giant? And I agree with Kathy that I wouldn't want to live in the vicinity of a smeltering plant, but having it overseas doesn't eliminate it.. it just means that the effects will be overseas in somebody else's habitat. I see many people, like you mentioned, defending the mine because of the jobs it will bring.. but will those jobs outweigh the jobs lost due to Kamloops tourism attraction being decreased?
ReplyDeleteYou made some very interesting and scary points here Ashley. I wonder what the long term side effects of constant inhalation of dust is. And is it at all reversible? This is definitely something to consider before the mine is operational.
ReplyDeleteExcellent blog, I totally agree with the idea that many Kamloops citizens are being kept in the dark about large-scale health-side effects that are generated with the implementation of mines. In further regards to the great amounts of dust generated by the mine, it has me thinking that we should be worries about chronic-bronchitis and other related lung-disease. I read an article once about miners developing a condition called "miner's lung"/"white lung" formally known as pnuemoconiosis. I originally thought only coal miners had developed or died from this in the past due to improper ventilation in the coal mines and chronic exposure to dust. It turns out that you can actually develop Pneumoconiosis from the inhalation of all types of different metal dervied dusts(it is more prominent with certain metals such as coal, silica asbestois)and it can cause emphysema, chronic bronchitis, scarring of lung tissue, pulmonary nodules etc. Here is an interesting article: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/465474/pneumoconiosis Maybe we as citizens don't have to worry as much about chronic dust exposure as those who are workers/blasters right up at the mine but depending on how close you live in proximitey of the mine and how long you live there maybe this could be a threat to your health. ~Cassandra Shendruk
ReplyDeleteThe other thing they neglect to mention about the economic side of things is that the mine will only keep people with mining certification, or heavy-duty automotive training employed in the long-term. This was demonstrated by NewGold. You can`t just walk on the site and apply for a job.
ReplyDeleteThe increase in the amount of hospital visits is startling, but I'm curious to know what the ailments were for these people. You mentioned cardiovascular and respiratory, but I was thinking of a more detailed problem, such as heavy metal powder in the lungs or something like that. -Erik Vliegenthart
ReplyDelete