The largest toxic release generator in the US is still metals mining

On Friday Mineweb.com reported that according to the EPA’s Toxic Releases Inventory (TRI), metals mining is once again the “largest contributor of toxic chemicals released into the environment”:

The EPA's 2010 TRI data showed that 3.93 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were released into the environment, a 16% increase from 2009. "The increase is mainly due to changes in the metal mining sector, which typically involves large facilities handling large volumes of material," the agency said. "In this sector, even a small change in the chemical composition of the ore being mined-which EPA understands is one of the reasons for the increase in total report releases-may lead to big changes in the amount of toxic chemicals reported nationally." 

The National Mining Association was out with a statement assuring us that the TRI is a “weight-based report” that “is not intended to evaluate risk.” NMA adds that the substances reported “occur naturally” in rock and soil.

So no big deal, right?

Wrong.

While these substances like cyanide, uranium, arsenic, and mercury do occur naturally in rock and soil, it is not their natural state, to be churned up (through the process of mining) and placed hundreds of feet above ground where they’re in position to contaminate our water or filter into the air and settle back down into our agriculture and water sources. 

It is such a big deal that our federal government spends millions each year to clean up the toxic waste abandoned mines leave behind. 

From Pew Research:

In 2009, the EPA declared that metal mining represents the single biggest source of potential taxpayer cleanup liability. According to GAO, the government has spent nearly $2.6 billion during the past decade in reclamation, including Superfund emergency removal monies and Forest Service funds. Overall, the government estimates that old mines have contaminated about 40 percent of all river headwaters in the West, and that there may be as many as half a million abandoned mine sites. Dozens of these have made it onto the federal Superfund National Priority List. Scientists have reported deteriorating fish populations, creation of toxic lakes, impairment of streams and groundwater contamination, including fouled drinking water wells, all associated with continuing pollution from mines. 

Again, NMA is correct, toxic chemicals occur naturally in rock and soil, but these “natural” toxic chemicals are buried deep. The massive quantities of earth moved for mining--and the exposure of elements and compounds once safely underground to air and water--starts a chemical chain reaction that causes perpetual pollution, known to devastate rivers and lakes over the long term. And the EPA estimates that more than 40 percent of western watersheds have been contaminated with mine waste.

The National Mining Association and mining companies across Nevada must do more to show they are committed to responsible mining and limiting the exposure Nevadans have to "naturally occurring" toxic chemicals caused by destructive mining practices. Metals mining takes a huge toll on Nevada's health--both the people and the environment. NMA's flippant response to the TRI report indicates they are not taking the issue seriously.