The Sierra Fund is happy that the issue of mercury left from historic gold mining in California is finally getting the attention and generating the vigorous debate it deserves. It is important that this debate be based in fact and grounded in science.
There's been a lot written when it comes to the topic of "suction dredging" and The Sierra's Fund's support of a bill (SB 670, sponsored by the Karuk Tribe) that would place a moratorium on this type of "hobby" mining until a court-mandated and long delayed study of its impacts are reviewed and new regulations developed. Much of this debate has included direct testimony from miners who, largely unintentionally, prove that rules governing suction dredging need improvement.
In a recent Grass Valley newspaper article, one suction dredge miner, Mike Leslie, tells the reporter "Without rules in place for handling the metal, some throw mercury back in the river or burn it. There are no incentives by land management agencies to collect and dispose of mercury properly... I store it right now until we find out what we're supposed to do with it".
We applaud Mr. Leslie's concerns, and are glad that he agrees there need to be new rules, programs and incentives to handle this problem. Handling mercury from dredging can be not only highly dangerous but also illegal. This is because mercury is a highly regulated, highly toxic material.
The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) regulates use and disposal of mercury because, according to Cal/EPA, "Mercury is toxic to people. Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that affects every aspect of brain and nerve function. Mercury is especially dangerous to the developing fetus as it impairs brain development, resulting in lowered intelligence and other brain deficits… Mercury is also toxic to the environment. Bacteria from river and estuary bottom sediments convert mercury into its highly toxic form through a process called "methylation." This methylated mercury accumulates in aquatic organisms, making the fish from those bodies of water dangerous to eat."
Alex Breitler of the Stockton Record wrote on May 5th 2009, "It's no secret that the Delta is contaminated with mercury, PCBs and pesticides. A new study sampling fish from a fraction of California's 9000 lakes suggests that most upstream water bodies are also tainted…The biggest culprit is mercury, a poisonous metal that lingers from the Gold Rush era in streams draining from the Sierra Nevada." (Contaminates in Fish from California Lakes and Reservoirs, www.waterboards.ca.gov/swamp)
Storage, transportation and disposal of mercury are regulated by various state agencies. It is illegal to handle, store, transport or dispose of more than a small amount of mercury without the appropriate license and tools. Even the smallest mercury spill is considered a toxic release under Prop 65, requiring a hazardous materials clean-up procedure.
Storing mercury in the garage is not only illegal but dangerous. Mercury is instantly fatal when inhaled in its gas form, from accidents such as jars loaded with mercury exploding in a fire. Nobody wants someone's child to find a jar of fascinating silver liquid that's been buried in a garage pour it on a fire to see what happens.
As Mr. Leslie points out even those miners who have the best of intentions are currently forced to engage in illegal and highly dangerous activities that can put themselves and their families at risk. In repeated statements the pro-dredging community says that there are serious problems with mercury recovery and that they have no guidelines to help them when they want to do the right thing.
It seems fairly obvious that the rules governing suction dredging need to be strengthened. We believe that an immediate moratorium on this historic but dangerous activity is in order until new regulations can be developed. We think there's a bigger conversation ahead about how to get as much mercury as possible out of Sierra water bodies, thereby helping to protect human health and the environment, saving millions of dollars in downstream treatment costs and at the same time creating large numbers of good paying "green" jobs cleaning up this "legacy" mercury.
It's a conversation that we welcome having with the dredging community because we recognize that they have essential skills and experience to offer this process. We hope that miners will consider this an invitation to talk with us. Please feel free to contact us at The Sierra Fund, (530) 265-8454 x 10 (Mike Thornton, Mining Project Outreach Coordinator) or visit our website at www.sierrafund.org.
