” Been to Hell” ~Alexandra Morton on Mount Polley visit

Posted on by Laila

Taking family time this weekend and I will have a post on Mount Polley and the sediment results late Monday, but for now, please go read Alexandra Mortons excellent post from her visit to take samples.

http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/2014/08/been-to-hell.html

” I entered a place that felt like hell.  You did not want to touch anything, breath, or sit down. This place had once been so inviting it had been chosen as home to First Nations long ago. It was so sweet and lovely that there were picnic tables nearby, berries were ripe and a few flowers still blooming, but everything about the place had changed.

The land was grey and cracking, and the leaves on the trees were grey. It hurt to know I was a member of the species that had done this, created a wasteland, that I believe to be toxic, where life was once diverse and generous…”

20 thoughts on “” Been to Hell” ~Alexandra Morton on Mount Polley visit”

  1. I can’t read you emails. They are all numbers. Can you please check with others to see if they are also having a problem?

    Joanne Manley

    >

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    1. No problem here.
      Excellent post. Excellent photos.
      Finally a map showing water flow to the Fraser river AND the looming salmon migratory route.
      How ironic that BC will experience the largest return of salmon in recorded history and this abomination happens on Christy’s “watch”. Quelle surprise.
      Bill Bennet should be fired.
      Christy should resign.
      Unfortunately that requires people with a conscience. We are talking about career politicians so I’ll not be holding my breath……….. Lower than pond scum

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  2. Thank you for referring us to Ms. Morton’s post. It is excellent and gives you a true sense of what happened. Parts of it look like moon scape.
    If the government really thinks I believe them, that things are “o.k.”, they are even crazier than I thought. Ms. Morton’s pictures clearly demonstrate, things are not o.k.

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  3. Oh, Laila………I got about halfway through Alex’s blog and then I couldn’t read anymore through my tears. I did finally did read it all, though, and I am determined to do whatever I can to stop this negligent mining company and our even more negligent BC Liberal government from trying to sweep this horror story under the rug.

    I’m so relieved to know that Alex has been up there taking samples, and I sincerely hope that the MSM doesn’t aid and abet the government by suppressing this, as they have in the past.

    What can we do as citizens to hold those unscrupulous organizations, Imperial Metals and the BC Liberals, accountable for their lack of action in this disgusting disaster? Is there an ‘Erin Brockovich’ in our midst? We need help!

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    1. Yes.. I relate.. the bear paw photo really got me. The trickle down impact… no wonder they wont talk about wildlife but are concentrating on human life… metals exposure is not instant, but cumulative. Clark may not even be premier when we start seeing the really big impact of this disaster. And… my post will be tomorrow evening.

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  4. “Are we really so unintelligent that this is the only way we can do business?”

    Bingo! Give that lady a prize!

    Canada’s educational system clearly needs a major…upgrading, and without further delay.

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  6. Bill Bennett strikes again. I wonder what happened that today he’s calling it a disaster, after last week saying it was a mess, but not a disaster and no different to avalanches. Does he know some detail now? Did someone whisper in his ear? Did he actually look a the scene? Why didn’t a reporter ask him why he’s changed his wording?

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  8. Facility and Substance Info:
    Imperial Metals Corporation – Mount Polley Mine 2012

    http://ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/donnees-data/index.cfm?do=facility_substance_summary&lang=en&opt_npri_id=0000005102&opt_report_year=2012#location

    Other years:

    http://ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/donnees-data/index.cfm?do=facility_history&lang=En&opt_npri_id=0000005102&opt_report_year=2012

    **************************************
    National Pollutant Release Inventory via Google Earth file GOOD GRIEF!!!
    http://www.ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/default.asp?lang=en&n=1D892B9F-1

    To Google Earth Link:
    http://www.ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/default.asp?lang=en&n=1D892B9F-1#npri

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    1. In your second link ‘other years’ it is obvious they were up to something as the numbers in all compounds from 2012 to 2013 rose astronomically! WTF!
      This information needs to be brought forth to the right people and an explanation should be demanded. Was this really an accident at all???
      Thanks for the info.

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  10. What a waste of research

    April 25, 2014 Vancouver Sun

    ….. Tailings are ground up rock and chemical pollutants left over from the extraction of metals from ore.

    Baldwin has her toes in the water of several important cleanup projects, including the Teck Resources smelter near Trail, the Imperial Metals Mount Polley Mine, and analysis of the selenium-contaminated run-off from coal mine waste in the Elk Valley.

    Imperial Metals has been operating a 450-litre-a-minute anaerobic biological reactor at Mount Polley since 2009, according to project engineer Luke Moger. The researchers are working to find the optimal environment and combination of microbes in which sulphate-reducing bacteria mitigate acid mine drainage and metal pollution by consuming sulfates in the tailings pond and water that has come in contact with waste rock. This creates sulphides that react with metals in the water to form harmless solids.

    http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Genomic+tools+offer+vision+cleaner+mining+industry/9772369/story.html

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