User:Nathan.cheever12/sandbox
Environmental impact
In 1990, homes that had been built on former flood plains were discovered to be contaminated with high levels of lead and arsenic.[1] Activities to clean up 100 years of accumulated impacts began in the 1990s, under state Utah Department of Environmental Quality and federal oversight and are ongoing.[2]
The EPA lists "Kennecott South Zone/Bingham" on its superfund webpage, because it was proposed to be listed as a
1900 - 1909
By 1904, there were three large copper
1910 - 1979
Kennecott Copper Mines was formed in 1910 after a merger of Utah Copper and Kennecott copper mining companies. By 1912, environmental protection organizations were complaining about high levels of asbestos being used in the organization. Kennecott Corporation was using asbestos for preventing fires since copper processing requires very high temperatures. Copper has a very high boiling point and also requires use of other chemicals to separate it from other metals and impurities present in the ore. Asbestos has microscopic particles that dispersed into the atmosphere and contributed to illnesses among workers and individuals living near the mines. Asbestos is responsible for illnesses such as pleural fibrosis, skin warts and lung cancer.
Kennecott Corporation was also cited as contributing to emissions of heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury. By 1940, arsenic and mercury were also some of the concerns that were raised by environmental protection agencies against Kennecott Corporation. Both mercury and arsenic are dangerous to health in large quantities.
1980 - 1989
| Year | Amount | Substance Released | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 100,000,000 gal (est) | Process water containing arsenic | Unknown |
Investigations in the 1980s revealed contamination in the groundwater caused by mining operations the release of hazardous materials. The
There was also a threat due to the tailings dam. An engineering report in March, 1988, gave information that the tailings dam overshadowing the town of Magna had threat of collapse due to an earthquake and that the billion-ton tailings pond would bury the homes nearby if the tailing pond’s embankment failed. The mine responded by proposing various potential strategies including buying up entire subdivisions near the tailings pond, calculating the company’s liability if the embankment failed, investing $500 million to reinforce the embankment, and colluding with state regulators to keep the engineering report out of the public eye.
1990 - 1999
| Year | Amount | Substance Released | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 100,000,000 gal (est) | Process water containing arsenic | Unknown |
| 1998 | unknown | Acid rock drainage | Clogged pipe |
| 1997 | unknown | Copper sulphate | Clogged outlet valve |
| 1997 | unknown | Process water with pH 2.5-4.0 | Ruptured pipeline |
| 1993 | 45,000 gal | Wastewater | Transfer line rupture |
| 1991 | 30,000 gal | Industrial wastewater | Line break |
Starting in the beginning of 1990s, dust emissions from mining began polluting surrounding areas, caused by an area near the mine where PM10 levels (particulate matter larger than 10 µg/m3) began to rise from 28μg/m³ to 50μg/m³, posing a severe health concerns for residents. The first report of PM10 rising was proposed by Schwartz and Dockery in 1992. Then, in 1997, Carter (a professor at Brigham Young University) put forward that the mine discharge of PM10 has caused damage to surrounding people's lungs.
In 1995, due to scientific research showing that mining had caused the pollution of groundwater, Utah passed laws to make Kennecott companies pay $37 million to control water pollution.
As a result of mine discharge sewage containing large amounts of arsenic and selenium – selenium being particularly toxic to birds, fish and amphibians – about 30% fish were killed in the early 1990s. In 1995 Kennecott, EPA and the State of Utah signed an agreement saying that Kennecott will continue to clean up the discharge sewage.
2000 - 2014
| Year | Amount | Substance Released | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 145,424 gal | Copper tailings | Equipment malfunction |
| 2011 | 100,000-290,000 gal | Copper tailings | Unknown |
| 2011 | 160,000 gal | Tailings | Unknown |
| 2010 | 4,000-5,000 gal | Sulfuric acid | Unknown |
| 2007 | 1,240,000 gal | Process water containing arsenic | Cold temperatures |
| 2006 | 270,000 gal | Process water | Pump failure |
| 2006 | 660,000 gal | Process water containing arsenic | Cracked pipe |
| 2006 | 1,000,000 gal | Process water | Failed indicator |
| 2004 | 4,000,000 gal | Process water containing arsenic | Cracked pipe |
| 2004 | 2,000,000 gal | Process water containing arsenic | Ruptured process water line |
| 2004 | 202,000 gal | Process water | Pipeline failure |
| 2003 | 70 tons | Copper concentrate | Unknown |
| 2003 | 10.27 tons | Copper concentrate containing arsenic, copper and lead | Pipeline rupture |
| 2003 | 240,681 tons | Copper, arsenic and lead | Copper concentrate pipeline rupture |
| 2002 | 5,800 gal | Process water from slag pot | Plugged drain line |
| 2001 | 19 lbs | Arsenic, chromium and lead | Tailings pipeline failure |
| 2000 | 110 tons | Ore slurry | Leak in ore line |
| 2000 | 18,000 tons | Sulfuric acid | Flange failure |
The
In 2007, Kennecott Utah Copper LLC was considering expanding its land holdings to Rose Canyon Ranch in the southern
In 2008, the United States Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service sued Kennecott after the release of hazardous substances including selenium, copper, arsenic, zinc, lead, and cadmium. A federal biologist claimed that these chemicals have caused great damage to the ecosystems and resources that support the migrant bird populations, as well as other fish and wildlife habitats.
In the northern zone near
- ^ "Kennecott South Zone / Bingham". EPA. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
- ^ Butler, Kaitlin (11 April 2014). "When the copper is gone, our children will get the pit". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
- ^ "Kennecott South Zone / Bingham". Region 8 superfund. EPA. March 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.