So when the Lethbridge resident, Nichole Robinson, heard that the provincial government had rescinded a decades-old policy that banned open-pit coal mining in many parts of the province, she felt that despite not being an activist, she had to find a way to draw attention to the situation.
In B.C., open pit mines have leached selenium into rivers in the Elk Valley area for years. Selenium is a metal that is safe in water in low levels, but in high levels can cause nausea or even neurological problems from long-term exposure.
“The way the province rescinded the coal policy from the ’70s, they did it with no public consultation and it happened really quietly,” she said.
“I get that we need jobs and I get that we’re struggling, but I think that even in a desperate time we need to think long term and not forget that what we do today will impact 50 to 100 years down the road and it’s not just about the next 10 to 20 years.”
Vital Alberta Water Sources
The Oldman River is a river in southern Alberta, Canada. It flows roughly west to east from the Rocky Mountains, through the communities of Fort Macleod, Lethbridge, and on to Grassy Lake, where it joins Bow River to form the South Saskatchewan River, which eventually drains into the Hudson Bay.
The Bow River
The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These waters ultimately flow through the Nelson River into Hudson Bay.[1] The Bow River runs through the city of Calgary, taking in the Elbow River at the historic site of Fort Calgary near downtown. The Bow River pathway, developed along the river’s banks, is considered a part of Calgary’s self-image.
Bow Rover Bridge in Calagry
The Toxicity of Coal Mining
In another article, it was mentioned that the run-off tailings from these mines get held in ponds, treated to some and released back into the environment. This contains various heavy metals mixed with selenium. Selenium is toxic to birds, fish and humans in large quantities. Releasing this type of chemical into the environment will eventually leech into the waterways. There have been a lot of attempts by various companies employing different methods to filter and extract the selenium, and regardless of the success they claim to have achieved, they have all failed.
According to Yale University, “in humans, chronic exposure to high selenium concentrations can cause nausea, fatigue, skin lesions, and neurological disorders. In other animals, high levels of the element have been shown to cause liver damage, paralysis, and even death. In the waterways it leeches into, it bioaccumulates in fish and plants, meaning the concentration keeps becoming more toxic to its host. It will kill the fish and deplete the resources altogether. Larger animals like cattle have become infected and gotten sick so it’s very important to monitor any water supply where animals or birds will have access to.
One of the biggest selenium contamination issues in the world is taking place in the Elk River’s tributaries to waters downstream that cross into the United States. Tech Resources has a number of metallurgical coal mines operating just inside the border of British Columbia in roughly the same area as the Grassy Mountain mine will be. The issues they are facing with international lawsuits and million dollar fines will be echoed by Alberta’s Coal mine. See the environmental hazard assessment of Benga Mining’s proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project.
If this toxic mixture of selenium and heavy metals can travel into the United States, it’s easy to see how quickly it will reach Lethbridge and Calgary. There is a lot of development and work towards finding a solution to deal with this contamination, but putting hope and optimism aside,,, nothing has worked.
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