Evaluation of Hazards and Risk Assessment of Fugitive Dust from Metals Extraction Operations at the Red Dog Mine, Alaska

This project investigated the accumulation of metals including cadmium, lead, and zinc in biota within National Park Service (NPS) Lands that may be associated with the transport of ore concentrates from the Red Dog Mine. Specifically, this research provided the NPS with detailed information about potential impacts from mining activities on the flora and fauna of Cape Krusenstern National Monument

Abstract

The Red Dog Mine has produced lead and zinc concentrates year-round since its start up in 1989. After milling and refining at the mine, the powder-consistency concentrates are trucked 45 miles (75 km) via a haul road to storage facilities on the Chukchi Sea, where they await ocean transport during the short ice-free shipping season. The haul road traverses 19 miles (32 km) of the Cape Krusenstern National Monument. Patterns of airborne heavy metal deposition on NPS lands from mining operations at Red Dog Mine were determined by the National Park Service through evaluation of mosses and lichens. Based on the NPS moss studies, metal bioaccumulation in the CAKR ecosystem resulting from mining transport activities appears to be a significant potential long term threat to the viability of natural habitats and subsistence resources and is a top priority RMP issue for the National Park Service. This research is intended to provide the NPS with detailed information on the ecological effects of the mining transport activities on biota of the Cape Krusenstern National Monument. The results are intended to provide the resource managers of the area with baseline data, monitoring tools, and an assessment of sub-lethal effects to terrestrial biota in the area. This project will determine environmental concentrations of metals in fugitive dust associated with the transport of ore concentrate from Teck Cominco Alaska Red Dog Mine along the De Long Mountain Transportation System that traverses the Cape Krusenstern National Monument and to evaluate potential toxicity to fauna and flora by measuring tissue concentrations of metals.

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Products

Title	Type
Metal exposure and effects in voles and small birds near a mining haul road in Cape Krusenstern	Publication
Concentrations and bioaccessibility of metals in vegetation and dust near a mining haul road	Publication
Assessment of Metals Exposure and Sub-Lethal Effects in Voles and Small Birds Captured	Publication
Elements in Mud and Snow in the Vicinity of the DeLong Mountain Regional Transportation System Road	Publication

Contacts

Brumbaugh, William G., 573-876-1857
Neitlich, Peter , 509-996-3917

Status: completed
Start Year: 2005
End Year: 2009

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Project Sites

Location

Cape Krusenstern

USGS Mission Area and Program

Environmental Health → Contaminant Biology

Keywords

Atmosphere > Precipitation > Snow
Biological Classification > Animals/Vertebrates > Birds
Biological Classification > Animals/Vertebrates > Mammals
Biological Classification > Plants
Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Ecotoxicology > Bioavailability
Human Dimensions > Environmental Impacts
Human Dimensions > Environmental Impacts > Heavy Metals
Solid Earth > Natural Resources > Metals