By Michele Bourdieu

MARQUETTE — Two Big Bay, Mich., residents concerned about air pollution from Rio Tinto-Kennecott’s Eagle Mine went all the way to London — to Rio Tinto’s April 19, 2012, Annual General Meeting (AGM) with shareholders — to request an independent, third-party air quality monitoring program for the mine.

When Cynthia Pryor of the Yellowdog Watershed Preserve and Carla Champagne of Concerned Citizens of Big Bay finally had their chance to speak at the AGM — near the end of the question session — the shareholders in the audience and the board members in the front of the large hall in Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center, just minutes before, had heard from a woman representing Utah Moms for Clean Air — a Salt Lake City mother whose son had nearly died from asthma. According to Utah Moms, he is one of many children affected by air pollution attributed to Rio Tinto-Kennecott’s huge open-pit Bingham Canyon mining operation near Salt Lake City.

That young mother, Alexandra Allred, was nearly in tears as she told the story of rushing her son to the hospital — and of the many funerals of children she has attended in her community. Addressing both the shareholders and the company executives, Allred asked in a voice choked with emotion, “Can all of you please make a vow to me that you will put environmental issues in the forefront … that you will become socially responsible for air quality and the environment — not just where I live but around the world?”

Her request was answered with applause from the audience. Jan DuPlessis, Rio Tinto board chair, assured her he was sensitive to her “highly personal” question and was aware of the air quality problem in the Salt Lake City basin.

“I believe that Rio Tinto probably is the most responsible company in our sector when it comes to dealing with the environment,” DuPlessis said.

They may not always get it right, he added, but they “will always try to do better.”

At the very end of the question period DuPlessis took a question from Cherise Udell, also of Utah Moms for Clean Air. Udell said Salt Lake City has been cited by the conservative Forbes magazine as being the ninth most toxic city in the U.S., and it gets an “F” grade year after year from the American Lung Association.

“Rio Tinto,” Udell stated, “is the number-one point-source emission in Utah and responsible for about 30 percent of the air pollution. This is a liability for you shareholders.”

Tom Albanese, Rio Tinto chief executive, blamed the air pollution on their subsidiary Kennecott’s vehicles as well as automobile traffic in the Salt Lake Valley. He said Rio Tinto is committed to reduce emissions “from Kennecott” with “extended light rail” and to begin converting vehicles from gasoline to natural gas.

That statement might make Marquette residents wonder why Rio Tinto’s subsidiary Kennecott, after obtaining for the Eagle Mine a permit based on their original plan to haul the ore by rail, has since been allowed to change that plan to a haul route through Marquette (for an estimated nearly 50 trucks a day, each way) — unless their alternative, CR 595 through the woods, should be approved by the federal agencies that have twice opposed it because of potential impacts to wetlands and streams.

Rio Tinto-Kennecott’s Eagle Mine near Big Bay, Mich. The portal to the mine is at right, where it enters Eagle Rock, a sacred Ojibwe site. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © and courtesy Jeremiah Eagle Eye. Reprinted with permission)

When Carla Champagne of Big Bay made her request for an independent, third-party air quality monitoring program for the Eagle Mine, Albanese spoke directly to the audience to assure them that air pollution near Big Bay was merely “particulate dust” that would be the equivalent of 15 wood-burning home heating units. He told Champagne Rio Tinto would fund and set up an air quality monitoring body to include representatives from the community, NGOs and probably academia.

“That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about an independent, third-party air quality monitoring program,” Champagne said. “If you’re paying for it you’re going to get the results you want. I would recommend — and to all the shareholders also — that instead of spending all that money on public relations you put that money where it can actually do something for the people of my community. You can afford it.”

Champagne and Pryor gave a brief report on their trip to Rio Tinto’s AGM at an April 30 meeting of a coalition of environmental groups in Marquette. Keweenaw Now recorded some of their comments.

Gene Champagne, Carla’s husband, who also attended the Marquette coalition meeting, said he and other Big Bay residents have noticed significant air pollution from the mine.

“Currently, as they drill the tunnel, they are venting everything out the mine portal,” Gene Champagne said. “We have no idea what is in the exhaust other than you can get a nauseating whiff of diesel fumes while standing on the AAA Road on some days. The exhaust fan is powered by a diesel generator. This is especially true if the wind happens to be blowing around.”

\http://keweenawnow.blogspot.com/2012/05/big-bay-residents-report-on-rio-tinto.html