The mining sector (click here) is responsible for some of the largest releases of
heavy metals into the environment of any industry. It also releases
other air pollutants including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in
addition to leaving behind tons of waste tailings, slag, and acid
drainage. Occupational and environmental exposure to heavy metals,
silica, and asbestos can occur during mining and milling operations. The
smelting process (extracting the metal from the ore) is associated with
the highest exposures and environmental releases.
The hazards to human health caused by exposure to heavy metals – including lead, cadmium and mercury – have been thoroughly documented. These metals are associated with a range of neurological deficits in both children and adults in addition to a range of other systemic effects. Exposure to airborne silica and asbestos can cause lung cancer, pneumoconiosis and numerous other health effects....
Summary (click here)
Iron is tough. It is tough to win from native ore, tough to work and shape, and tough in its application as technology's primary structural metal. And the iron and steel production industry is, appropriately enough, a particularly tough sector for U. S. businesses to survive in.
History had already begun to be recorded well before early metallurgists discovered the conditions necessary to reduce the iron in naturally occurring ores to the metallic state. Copper and bronze had been in widespread use for millennia before iron made an appearance (perhaps around 2,500 BC). The iron smelting process requires intense heat, far higher than can be reached in an open flame. Not until enclosed furnaces had been developed (probably for the original purpose of firing pottery), along with techniques for producing particularly hot flames (through the use of hardwood or charcoal, and of bellows for supplying a stream of air), were the prerequisites in place for iron reduction.
But while iron metal is difficult to make, iron ore is easy to find. Iron is one of the most abundant elements in the earth's crust (about 5% by weight), and usable deposits of iron ore are geographically widespread. Thus, possession of the mine does not confer control of the market. The prize goes to the most efficient producer, the one that can carry out an energy-intensive process, involving the processing of great quantities of raw materials, and can produce a finished material within tightly controlled specifications at the lowest cost. Adding to the already intense pressure on primary producers to minimize production costs are two further factors:...
Pacific Southwest, Region 9: Superfund (click here)
• Iron King Mine Main Tailings Pile and Impoundment/Ponds
• Iron King Mine Small Tailings Pile
• Humboldt Smelter Ash Pile
• Humboldt Smelter Impoundment/Pond
• Humboldt Smelter Tailings Pile
• Lower Chaparral Gulch
The locations of these source areas are shown on the map titled "Site Map" below. These sources contain average arsenic and lead levels from one to two orders of magnitude greater than average background arsenic and lead levels. Exposure to these metals could present a health risk if a person is in contact with them over a long period of time. EPA recommends that residents, especially children and the elderly, limit or avoid contact with soils and any water in these areas, and obey EPA caution signs until these areas can be addressed through cleanup actions. Residents should limit or avoid spending time in Chaparral Gulch as tailings have been deposited along most of its length....
The hazards to human health caused by exposure to heavy metals – including lead, cadmium and mercury – have been thoroughly documented. These metals are associated with a range of neurological deficits in both children and adults in addition to a range of other systemic effects. Exposure to airborne silica and asbestos can cause lung cancer, pneumoconiosis and numerous other health effects....
Summary (click here)
Iron is tough. It is tough to win from native ore, tough to work and shape, and tough in its application as technology's primary structural metal. And the iron and steel production industry is, appropriately enough, a particularly tough sector for U. S. businesses to survive in.
History had already begun to be recorded well before early metallurgists discovered the conditions necessary to reduce the iron in naturally occurring ores to the metallic state. Copper and bronze had been in widespread use for millennia before iron made an appearance (perhaps around 2,500 BC). The iron smelting process requires intense heat, far higher than can be reached in an open flame. Not until enclosed furnaces had been developed (probably for the original purpose of firing pottery), along with techniques for producing particularly hot flames (through the use of hardwood or charcoal, and of bellows for supplying a stream of air), were the prerequisites in place for iron reduction.
But while iron metal is difficult to make, iron ore is easy to find. Iron is one of the most abundant elements in the earth's crust (about 5% by weight), and usable deposits of iron ore are geographically widespread. Thus, possession of the mine does not confer control of the market. The prize goes to the most efficient producer, the one that can carry out an energy-intensive process, involving the processing of great quantities of raw materials, and can produce a finished material within tightly controlled specifications at the lowest cost. Adding to the already intense pressure on primary producers to minimize production costs are two further factors:...
Pacific Southwest, Region 9: Superfund (click here)
The contaminants of concern at this site are arsenic, lead, and sulfate. The primary sources of contamination are:
• Iron King Mine Small Tailings Pile
• Humboldt Smelter Ash Pile
• Humboldt Smelter Impoundment/Pond
• Humboldt Smelter Tailings Pile
• Lower Chaparral Gulch
The locations of these source areas are shown on the map titled "Site Map" below. These sources contain average arsenic and lead levels from one to two orders of magnitude greater than average background arsenic and lead levels. Exposure to these metals could present a health risk if a person is in contact with them over a long period of time. EPA recommends that residents, especially children and the elderly, limit or avoid contact with soils and any water in these areas, and obey EPA caution signs until these areas can be addressed through cleanup actions. Residents should limit or avoid spending time in Chaparral Gulch as tailings have been deposited along most of its length....
