Toxics/National Pollutant Release Inventory

News release: A crucial vote on whether to extend the debate of the Environmental Bill of Rights Act is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3^rd. The Bill has been working its way through Parliament for a number of years now, and is a only few amendments away from completion and a third reading vote.

The creation of large volumes of waste, including solids, liquid effluents, and air emissions, is a fact of life for mining and mineral processing operations. Depending on the minerals’ natural geology and how they are processed these wastes can often be hazardous to the environment and human health. Solid wastes including waste rock and tailings are, by volume, the most significant waste generated by mining and mineral processing. Solid wastes are typically in the tens to hundreds of millions of tons of waste for a single mine. A rough estimate of Canadian production is 2 million tonnes a day. Based on information available from the U.S., it is safe to assume that mining in Canada generates a greater volume of toxic waste than any other industry in the country.

[Joint news release] Great Lakes United, MiningWatch Canada and Ecojustice are hailing a landmark decision from the Federal Court of Canada released late yesterday that will force the federal government to stop withholding data on one of Canada’s largest sources of pollution – millions of tonnes of toxic mine tailings and waste rock from mining operations throughout the country.

[Joint news release] Litigation was launched today against Canada’s Minister of Environment to ensure that the hundreds of millions of kilograms of toxic mining waste being kept secret from the Canadian public are reported.