Community | February 14, 2012 | 10 comments

Selenium Contamination Linked to Two-Headed Trout Near Idaho Phosphate Mine

source: http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/selenium-contamination-two-headed-trout-n...

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A government report released this week has found that selenium contamination from a phosphate mine in Idaho is connected to fish deformities in the area, including two-headed trout—and the problem would worsen if water quality standards are relaxed, which is what the company is asking for.

More from Reuters/Scientific American:

The findings come as Smoky Canyon Mine, run by the J.R. Simplot Company near the Wyoming border, is asking the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to relax restrictions on the amount of selenium that the mine may drain into tributaries of the Snake River, a world-class trout stream.

Simplot, one of the nation's largest privately held companies with annual sales of about $4.5 billion, wields considerable clout in its home state, where its products range from turf grass seed to frozen French fries for fast-food chains like McDonald's.

Environmentalists' concerns about selenium, an element released as a byproduct of the mining operation, prompted a U.S. Senate panel to ask contaminant specialists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to evaluate whether Simplot's request would harm wild trout and other species.

Mining Company vs. Environmentalists
Yet Simplot argues the effects seen in fish are just one piece of a complex puzzle, and stands behind its proposal to relax the water quality standards. AP explains what's at stake in the decision both for Simplot and for opponents of the proposed new standards:

For Simplot, working with rules allowing for higher levels of selenium than currently allowed could save time and money devoted to cleanup and future monitoring.

For environmentalists, a change in standard could open the door to legal challenges or other mining companies seeking the same change in a region already impaired by decades of mining. And at least one federal agency has already weighed in, raising concerns about Simplot's research and claims the company is underestimating the potential impacts any change could have on fish.

More of the article: http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/selenium-contamination-two-he...
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