Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Releases Inventory (TRI)
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2016 Toxic Releases Inventory (TRI), Red Dog Mine was the source of more toxic releases than any other facility in the United States.[30] Although, no "toxic releases" come "from within the bounds of this small tundra metropolis, Kotzebue, the methods used by the EPA's TRI reported that in 2016, Kotzebue, with only 7,500 inhabitants, "produced" 756 million pounds of toxins. Forbes also published the claim and added that the second most toxic was Bingham Canyon, Utah, at 200 million pounds of toxins.[31] At the county level the Northwest Arctic of Alaska leads the list with 756,000,000 pounds of toxins. The state of Alaska produces three times more toxins than every other American state—834 million pounds.[31] The TRI placed Kotzebue as the most toxic place in the United States. However, as National Geographic explains, the source of the toxins is not Kotzebue, but Red Dog Mine.[30] Since the mine is located in a remote area in Alaska, the toxic release is linked to the nearest "city"— Kotzebue.[30] The EPA says that when a "facility" is "not located in a city, town, village, or similar entity will often list a nearby city." National Geographic says that, "All 756 million pounds of toxic chemicals attributed to "Kotzebue" on the TRI dataset came from one of the world's largest zinc and lead mines, the Red Dog Mine, which is located about 80 miles north of Kotzebue."[30] There is no evidence that Kotzebue is at any risk of toxic pollution.[30]
Red Dog's 2016 releases included "83,578 pounds of cadmium compounds, 1,435,542 pounds of chromium compounds, 415,802 pounds of mercury compounds, and 319,192,113 pounds of lead compounds, all of which was reportedly disposed of on-site at the mine."[30]
ACAT's executive director, Pamela Miller, says that the industry's claim that "elements like lead and cadmium" are "naturally occurring" in the region, may be true, but both lead and cadmium "are nonetheless toxic". "Lead is one of the most well-known toxic substances, with neurotoxic properties that are very well established, and it is especially toxic to children."[30] "The mining industry will make the argument this is just waste rock, but the fact is you are bringing this large amount of heavy metal-concentrated ore to the Earth's surface and exposing that to the elements, and this promotes the oxidization and leaching of these metals, which is why the EPA requires them to report this way under the TRI," according to Miller.[30]
The Red Dog Mine Haul Road
According to 2001 reports, the ore from the mine is transported by ore trucks that weigh 100 tons (net 72-ton payload) that carry 1.1 million dry tons of lead-zinc concentrate annually on the 52 mi Red Dog Mine Haul Road to the state-owned, Teck-operated DeLong Mountain Port Facility on the Chuckchi Sea.[32] By 2001, the trucks were dispatched approximately every 15 minutes, twenty-four hours a day all year long.
Teck Resources said that while it is generally agreed that years of operation of tarp-top haul trucks carrying lead-zinc concentrate resulted in lead and cadmium-bearing dust contamination along the edges of the haul road, that this practice did not result in a threat to human safety. In 2008, Teck Resources said that the entire concentrate-haulage system had been improved, including tight-fitting seals on side-dump trucks and enclosure of conveyor belts at the port site.[33][34]
A 24 mi section of this road traverses National Park Service (NPS) lands in Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR). A 2001 NPS study investigated the potential of heavy metals from the dust of the stream of trucks on low-lying vegetation in the park. A 2001 NPR reports found that, the "environmental levels of [cadmium] (Cd) in the Red Dog data set far exceed the maxima reported for severely polluted locations in Central European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. Almost all moss concentrations from this Red Dog study are greater than the cadmium endpoint considered highly polluted in the Nordic moss monitoring program (0.8 mg/kg dw)."
According to a 2005 Alaska Business Monthly, leaching of metals and acids from waste rocks into the environment is a valid concern. The waste rock piles are contained and all runoff water is monitored and treated to water quality standards. Monitoring, and mitigation if necessary, will need to continue throughout the mine life and for many decades after mine closure.[38] All of the waste rock and tailings material remains in permanent disposal on-site, contained, and treated as necessary by the mine operations. The EPA notes about Red Dog's rank, "No conclusions on the potential risks can be made based solely on this information."[39]
Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
In Alaska it is legal for mines to discharge treated wastewater into rivers and streams under the Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Red Dog mine legally discharges treated wastewater into the Middle Fork of Red Dog Creek. This is of concern to community members of the village of Kivalina, Alaska, near the mouth of the Wulik River, a "source of fish and water for villagers".[30] In 2016, Kivalina sued Teck Resources for polluting its water source.[40]
The Red Dog mine discharged treated water into Red Dog Creek, a tributary of Ikalukrok Creek. On June 13, 2007 the State of Alaska removed two creeks (Red Dog Creek and Ikalukrok Creek) near the Red Dog mine in Northwest Alaska from the most-polluted waters list with EPA's approval.[41] The mine discharges treated water into Red Dog Creek, a tributary of Ikalukrok Creek. Pre-mining studies on Red Dog Creek revealed naturally high concentrations of cadmium, lead, zinc, aluminum, and other metals. Before mining began, aquatic life uses were not present in the main stem of Red Dog Creek because of the natural toxic concentrations and low pH. After mining began, year-round release of treated mine wastewater allowed a population of
Delong Mountain Transportation System
The Delong Mountain Transportation System includes the 52 mi Red Dog Mine Haul Road that connects the mine to the state-owned but Teck Resources-operated DeLong Mountain Port facilities on the Chukchi Sea. The road was "constructed to deliver zinc mined at Red Dog to world markets". A 2018 North of 60 Mining article described it as Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA)-funded "most successful" projects to date—a "model for future partnerships."[43] AIDEA was established by the Alaska Legislature in 1967 as a public corporation and is not state-funded.[43] Local inhabitants have expressed concerns that the proposed expansion of DeLong Mountain Port docking facilities may detrimentally change the migratory patterns of marine life.
The mine's airport, known as Red Dog Airport, provides the main access. Mine workers from remote villages in the region are ferried to the mine on small aircraft. Alaska Airlines is contracted by the mine to fly other mine workers out of Anchorage. Until 2007, gravel-strip capable Boeing 737-200 Combi aircraft were used. These ships have a cargo door in the front part of the aircraft and a separate rear passenger cabin. In 2005 the runway was paved, in anticipation of newer Boeing 737-400 Combi aircraft which are not equipped to land on gravel.
2024 Environmental Protection Agency settlement
In August 2024, the operators of Red Dog Mine agreed to pay over $429,794 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of a settlement regarding hazardous waste violations that occurred from October 2019 until January 2024. This was the largest violation in the mine's history.
The violations included failures to properly identify, store, report, and treat hazardous waste at Red Dog's laboratory. Teck Alaska contended that the violations stemmed from a “different interpretation of EPA requirements for identifying, storing and disposing” hazardous waste and involved less than 200 grams of solid residual material. Kevin Schanilec—a hazardous waste compliance officer for the EPA—stated that a much greater amount of waste was involved and that had it been properly reported, the mine "would have been a category in a higher category of waste generation that exceeds 1,000 kilograms (2204 lbs) per month.”
Teck was given until June of 2025 to ensure that the tank and piping in the mine's laboratory were clean and not a potential source of environmental contamination.[47]
