With British Columbia being regarded as a fracking hub, the province has also suffered from heavy industrial activity. An example of this is the provinces large pulp mill production and mining industries. In the 20th century, the Howe Sound region experienced large amounts of industrial activity since the 1980’s.
IMPACT
Britannia Beach is a region that contains an out of commission copper mine that is along the shore of the Howe Sound fjord. The Howe Sound fjord is a natural hub of water, home to countless marine wildlife, including Killer Whales, dolphins, and various species of fish. This mine, though out of commission, produces a metal contamination that still lingers the sound today. Efforts have been made to reduce the environmental impact the mine produces.
With the water contamination in effect, various habitats have been a prime target for destruction. The area once known to inhabit killer wales suffered dramatically from the various copper extraction methods, which found its way into the water during its peek mining periods. Although the mine is shut down, the area still suffers greatly. In 2013, the water was examined to still be found to hold contamination way above water quality guidelines, even with the mine being closed for over 40 years. Between the 70 years the mine was open, over 40 million tonnes of tailings were dumped into the waters of the Howe Sound bay.
In this graph, various areas surrounding the mine were examined. Evidence of contamination was even prevalent far up streams far from the mine itself, possibly harming the environment not only at the waterfront, but deep into the mountains as well. With this issue at hand, many of the toxins extracted from the site itself have various harmful effects on the marine wildlife, as well as humans. According to the Ocean Watch article, “cadmium can affect humans, while copper has toxic effects on behavior and olfaction systems of salmonids”.
SOLUTION
In recent times, the Canadian government has implemented water treatment plants to try and curb the effects that the mining industry of the region has had on the environments. It’s important to note however that mining is one of Canada’s largest industries with over 3,700 mining companies in the mining industry, as well as ranked in the top 5 countries in the world for 13 different metals. With this example shown, the effects of mining can be detrimental to the environment. The effects of the mine were known since the 1980’s, however the water treatment plant was not placed into effect until 2005. It was not until recently that pink salmon had revisited the region, after being gone for more than 80 years, showing that treatment has had some effect. However, researchers say that the area will never regain full recovery from the industry.