Editorial — Another day, another sediment report

Posted on September 25, 2014 in Editorials // 4 Comments

THURSDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — Remember back in August when we waited anxiously for the latest environmental reports on the Mount Polley disaster?

The reports have become routine and attract little media attention. The latest one, on Wednesday, was that sediment samples taken by the Ministry of Environment from the mine site and Hazeltine Creek “are consistent with previous sample results.”

The test results show the samples exceed some B.C. standards and guidelines but are consistent with baseline tailings samples taken in previous years. The standards are exceeded for copper, iron, manganese, arsenic, selenium and vanadium.

Interior Health will monitor the results for potential long-term health risks. And so on.

The good news is that Environment Ministry continues to take samples, analyze them and report the findings. The bad news is that Mount Polley has been pushed to the inside pages.

Mount Polley

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4 Comments on Editorial — Another day, another sediment report

Kerri // September 26, 2014 at 6:02 PM // Reply

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mount-polley-dam-tension-crack-detected-4-years-ago-says-ndp-leader-john-horgan-1.2779355

Here’s something new….

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Sean McGuinness // September 25, 2014 at 11:47 AM // Reply

The people up in Likely don’t trust the reports coming out of the Ministry of the Environment, and with good reason. First of all, they can see the damage in Hazelton creek and Quesnel lake. Secondly, the ministry is in a conflicting position — positive reports make them look good, negative reports make them look bad. What’s needed is more objectivity and openess on the matter. From what I’ve read and heard, people up there won’t drink the water because they don’t trust the information they’re getting from the govt. The water doesn’t look clean to drink, there’s algae growing in it, and they’re hearing things which disturb them. A recent speaker I heard described how some Japanese scientists had told them NOT to drink the water. Where is the truth in this matter?

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lee kenney // September 25, 2014 at 11:31 AM // Reply

The”Mount Polley Spill Uncensored ” facebook page could be a source of information or frustration .

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Blaine // September 25, 2014 at 8:52 AM // Reply

I agree with you Mel. It’s like the media has forgotten Mount Polley. Yet it is one huge human-caused environmental disaster and it happened in our backyard. Thanks for reporting about it and pushing it to the forefront again.

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