Courtesy Photo | Environmental Protection Agency                                This Toxic Release Inventory map included in the Environmental Protection Agency’s annual TRI analysis shows facilities throughout the state that reported the release of toxic chemicals to the EPA. Releases include permitted releases and movement of waste rock.

Courtesy Photo | Environmental Protection Agency This Toxic Release Inventory map included in the Environmental Protection Agency’s annual TRI analysis shows facilities throughout the state that reported the release of toxic chemicals to the EPA. Releases include permitted releases and movement of waste rock.

EPA: Alaska led nation in toxic chemical release

Mining industry and DEC commissioner say that might not mean what you think

Alaska in 2018 led the nation in releasing toxic chemicals tracked by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a new EPA report, but the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner says the numbers aren’t what they seem on the surface.

Thirty facilities across the state released 971.9 million pounds of Toxic Release Inventory chemicals in 2018, according to the EPA’s TRI National Analysis shared Tuesday morning. That’s the most in the U.S. by volume and the 11th most per square mile.

TRI chemicals are toxic chemicals whose release must be reported to the EPA. There are currently 755 listed TRI chemicals. The annual TRI analysis tracks the management of toxic substances at the state and national levels.

DEC Commissioner Jason Brune said in a release the EPA’s numbers don’t tell the whole story of what’s happening in Alaska.

That’s because the vast majority — 970.6 million pounds, more than 99% — of Alaska’s releases are land releases connected to metal mining, and Brune argues that unearthed rocks moved to a different part of the mining site don’t have a significant impact on public health and should not be qualified as a toxic release.

“Big mines like Red Dog (near Kotzebue) move a significant amount of material as part of their daily operations, but such actions do not adversely impact human health and the environment,” Brune said in a release. “Characterizing such releases as toxic is disingenuous at best.”

EPA: Alaska led nation in toxic chemical release

However, that’s not everyone’s impression of the annual analysis.

David Chambers, founder and president of the Montana-based Center for Science in Public Participation, a nonprofit that provides assistance on mining and water quality to public interest groups and tribal governments, find TRI analysis to be fair and useful.

“I think EPA’s critique of releasing all these metals is legitimate,” Chambers said.

[House-passed bill could lead to PFAS cleanup]

He said it’s tough to characterize unearthing rocks containing toxic chemicals and moving them to another location as anything other than a release that creates the potential for harmful materials to enter the environment.

“If you let them loose they can be a real problem,” Chambers said. “That’s basically what mining does to these metallic elements.”

With this year’s report, the EPA published a new guide with the 2018 TRI National Analysis to help explain metal mining data. The EPA was unable to respond to a request for comment in time for the publication of this article.

The guide notes that because large mines relocate millions of tons of excavated waste rock, the reported quantity of chemicals can be quite large, and it acknowledges TRI data is not in itself enough to determine the level if any of public exposure to toxic chemicals.

In Alaska, Red Dog Operations accounted for more than 90% — about 885.7 million pounds — of the state’s releases, according to the EPA’s figures, but it wasn’t the only mining company in the top five. The entirety of the top five releasers in Alaska were mining projects, according to the analysis. Red Dog was trailed by Hecla Greens Creek Mining Co. at about 55.6 million pounds, Fort Knox Mine at about 19.5 million pounds, Pogo Mine at about 7.9 million pounds, and Couer Alaska Inc Kensington Gold Project at about 2.3 million pounds.

For comparison, Nevada as a state released over 339 million pounds of TRI chemicals, Utah over 291 million and Texas over 225 million.

In a letter shared with the Empire, Red Dog general manager Les Yesnik and Wayne Westlake President and CEO for the NANA Regional Corporation, acknowledged the presence of lead and zinc in waste, but stated the EPA report creates “confusion and misinformation.”

NANA is a regional Alaska Native corporation whose region includes 11 communities in the northwestern portion of the state and owns the land on which Red Dog Operates.

“This is a normal part of the mining process and does not indicate any health or environmental effect,” Yesnik and Westlake wrote. “Red Dog is required to report the amount of materials moved at the mine site due to the grades of zinc and lead naturally occurring in the rocks in the ground. This does not relate to any releases of materials from Red Dog to the environment.”

Chambers said lead and zinc may occur naturally, but so does cyanide. He also said that if toxic materials stayed entirely on mining sites all of the time, there would likely not be many complaints about the contents of mining waste.

“We’ve seen it demonstrated over and over again that those contaminants get off the mine site, and that’s where you get problems,” Chambers said.

He said the annual analysis can help track what chemicals and in what quantity are present at mining sites, and that information would be useful for quantifying risk to the public if the materials made their way off site.

“I think fundamentally, TRI is a good thing,” Chambers said.

• Contact reporter Ben Hohenstatt at (907)523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.

More in News

The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for the week of April 20

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2024 schedule.… Continue reading

An officer from the U.S. Border Patrol’s Blaine Sector office, which has assigned two permanent officers to Juneau as of December. (U.S. Border Patrol photo)
Higher-than-normal border crossings north of Haines last month defy national trends

The number of passengers entering the country at the Dalton Cache border… Continue reading

The chairs of the Senate Finance Committee huddle for a discussion after introducing their draft operating budget, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Senate committee’s draft budget cuts $206 million from House plan but still has deficit

Proposal eliminates proposals for new troopers, help for education and would cut prison space.

Liz Harpold, a staff member for Sen. Donny Olson (D-Golovin)​, explains changes to a bill increasing per-student education funding and making various policy changes during a Senate Finance Committee meeting on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Revised education bill with $700 BSA hike gets new policy measures, advances to Senate floor

Changes easing charter school rules, adding new district evaluations fall short of governor’s agenda.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Tuesday, April 22, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Monday, April 21, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

A 74-pound cabbage grown by Keevan Dinkel of Wasilla is displayed on Sept. 2, 2018, at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Palmer legislator proposes Alaska’s record-setting giant cabbage as official state vegetable

Nomination could raise recognition for Alaska agriculture, says Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer.

An Alaska Airlines plane passes above participants in the annual Turkey Trot run/walk next to Juneau International Airport on Thanksgiving Day of 2022. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file photo)
Alaska Airlines issues warning amidst travel industry downturn due to Trump-fueled uncertainty

Company reports $166M loss during first quarter of year, won’t release an outlook for 2025.

A vote board shows a veto override attempt Tuesday by the Alaska Legislature on a $1,000 increase to per-student education funding falling short of the necessary two-thirds majority with a 33-27 vote. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Senate adds $700 BSA hike to school phone policy bill a day after veto override on $1,000 increase fails

Lawmakers say quick floor vote by Senate, concurrence by House may set up another override session.

Most Read