The Rehabilitation Efforts Undertaken at Woods Reef Asbestos Mines - Report Example

ECOLOGICAL REHABILITATION AT THE WOODSREEF ASBESTOS MINES Introduction: This paper is an analysis of rehabilitation efforts undertaken at Woodsreef Asbestos Mines. In the beginning, I propose to give an introduction to the history of the mines. In the next section, I will explain the situation on the ground with regard to the mines. In the section after this, I will take up the issues concerning rehabilitation. In the final section, I will put forth my viewpoint about rehabilitation in the mines. Here, I argue that there are no quick fix solutions to a problem of this nature. The reason for saying this is that by its very nature, a rehabilitation programme has to take into consideration factors that operate over centuries in some cases. A concerted effort is called for on this issue. These aspects are discussed in this paper. History of Woodsreef Asbestos Mines: Woodsreef Asbestos Mine (in picture, above) is situated about nine miles east of the township of Barraba, in Australia’s south western region in the New England Tablelands. The chief extraction done from here was the mineral chrysotile, commonly known as white asbestos. This is done from a deposit based chiefly found in the Great Serpentinite Belt, whose discovery dates to the 1880s. The company that first started extracting asbestos from here was the Asbestos Mining Company of Australia Ltd., which did this from 1918 to 1923. (Grant, Campbell and Charnok, 2002) Carrying out their mining work from two different quarries, the Asbestos Mining Company of Australia Ltd produced as many as 2,500 ton always of fibre, with each having an average length of 12 mm. In 1949, a new chapter started in the company’s history, when the James Hardie Pty Ltd company was asked to look at how much yield the mines were actually capable of producing. Ten years from then, another company called Marcel Asbestos Pty Ltd was extracting 14,000 tonnes of fibre. In 1964, White Asbestos Mining Pty Ltd bought the mining leases, and started conducting prospects for the mines potential when it came to be known as the Chrysotile Corporation of Australia. Open pit operations began in the South Pit in 1971. Between 1972 and 1983, Woodsreef mined 0.5 Mt of asbestos; finally, after a yield of nearly 70,000 tones of per annum, the company became defunct in 1983, owing to large scale losses (Macdonald, 2008). Issues concerning the mines: When operations closed down in 1983, Woodsreef had caused considerable damage to the water source of the neighbourhood. The Barraba community had to face the consequences of losing the water source The 1200-member community that is based in the vicinity of the dumping site has had to breathe and live dangerously. It is known that 75 million tones of asbestos waste were left behind after operations wound up. This is spread over an area of nearly 300 acres; close to this, a 190-acre patch has been left with 25 million tones of tailings dumps. The stockpiles sit on an average height of 45 m ,with some going up to 70 m. In 1999, Woodsreef Asbestos Mine Mill House Site Remediation Report [Mr PETER DRAPER,2008] has this to say: In view of recent available data on the health effects of chrysotile asbestos, and the conclusions reached from the study and assessment of the site, emphasis must be placed on the need to carry out remediation works required in the Mill House and adjacent areas at Woodsreef Mine, in a manner that will be totally controlled by competent people in the safest possible way. The results of our laboratory test show that approximately 80% of the asbestos cement sheeting tested by this company contained chrysotile asbestos, with estimates of up to 40% by volume of chrysotile fibre. Results from medical reports indicate that the potential health hazards from chrysotile asbestos are as great as other types of asbestos and no complacency should exist as to the health hazards of this material, when contemplating removal. With the majority of asbestos identified within the Mill House and adjacent areas being 100% pure chrysotile fibre, there must be an acceptance of the fact that a major health hazard does exist within these areas. This issue has led to emotive and heated debate among the country’s lawmakers. (Draper, 2008) The cost of the rehabilitation was put in the region of $80 million, two decades back and this could be into range of 100 to 160 million. Three government departments and agencies, the Department of Environment and Climate Change, the Department of Primary Industries, and the NSW Health have met on several occasions to discuss issues relating to rehabilitation. As of now, these three agencies hold the view that the findings of the agency remain valid. Among the chief debates today are closure of 2.4 kilometres of Crow Mountain Road that is at close range to the Woodsreef mine, the installation of a well-grounded air monitoring program, and eradication of the derelict mill and silos. The cost of all these is expected to be in the range of $3.3 million. (Macdonald, 2008) Added to these, there is also the usual problem associated with any asbestos mine that of a proper analysis of asbestos quality. In the Woodreef case, the general public was not made very aware of the issues going on inside; in addition, the media, with whatever information it had on the issue, was continually whipping up a frenzy, often with little knowledge of the issues involved. (Hoover and Znamensky, 1986) Glen and Butt, 1981 has argued that t heavy mining in the area over decades has left the ground unstable and tenuous. Massive mining hits have created serpentinite in stress-induced openings. Situation in the mines: It was discovered that the boundary walls had developed cracks. By August 2008, these were fixed under the Derelict Mines Program. Since then, no cracks have been found. For this, it is estimated that the New South Wales Government spent well over $1 million, as well as on rehabilitation and safety issues at the site. Even as of now, the New South Wales Government has been planning to come out with rehabilitation at Derelict Mines Program site. (Macdonald, 2008) The site also has innumerable pits, most of which have large quantities of water. The asbestos is a source of pollution of these water bodies. There are also a vast number of buildings in the area that have not been fully rehabilitated. Uncontained chrysotile fibres are found throughout the site. A private consultancy firm, Dames and Moore, was hired in 1997 to make an assessment of the risk prevalent at the Woodsreef mine site. It classified the risks into high, medium and low categories. (Macdonald, 2008) Dames and Moore did not consider inhalation as a major factor, due to not taking into consideration about high levels of exposure .There has been ignorance of those who bore the brunt of contaminated water and leaching of water were the residents of the area and the seriousness of the matter was considered as low. Medium scale issues were those that happened to the residents who were situated close to the tailings dump, or other locations such as downstream watercourses. In addition, those who lived in the nearby Crow Mountain Road, which is very near to the tailings dump, or happened to use the road, were liable to inhale airborne fibres. The reason this was assigned a medium rating is that there were very few people who actually lived here, and fewer numbers used the road. The bad state , according to this assessment, were those who had a chance of getting hit by the rock falls in the area, when they were either working there or happened to be passing by. (Macdonald, 2008) Also, during the time the mines were operating, it is said that most of the companies that ran the mines continually ignored suggestions that they were obliged to have the health of these mine workers checked periodically. At the time of the closure of the mines, this became quite an issue in itself. (Peacock, 2008) Solutions: As with any such issue pertaining to ecosystems, a number of options may be considered as possible solutions. Restoration ecology and ecology restoration are two of the most frequently discussed solutions. Before going into the issue, one has to bear in mind that we are talking about massive natural phenomena such as ecosystems. There are arguments about ecological rehabilitation and there are views that ecological rehabilitation can be complete and ecological rehabilitation can be false also. When talking about geological formations, we are looking at changes that can take only a few years and months.At other times, when solutions are sought to be implemented, they can not only be half-full; they come at an enormous cost, financial and otherwise. This is the inherent problem with approaching the issue. (Anko, 1999, p. 245) It is from this standpoint that any solution has to be approached. “Restoration Ecology” is a relatively new phrase that has hit the environmental lexicon. Simply put, it is, as the terms suggests, the restoration or return of ecosystems to the state they were prior to being damaged. It is a process that involves multiple layers and levels of work, because a holistic approach to restoration is undertaken. Undoubtedly, this concept promises a lot, but is not without its drawbacks. While the biggest advantage it brings with it is the hope that what is lost can be regained. It also calls for concerted efforts from a number of players, which is not always possible. (Zuckerman, 1988) Issues to consider for rehabilitation: Most of the extraction and rehabilitation could be leased out to interested private companies, which will make the government’s task less cumbersome.(Draper, 2008).As Draper argued on the matter in the New South Wales Parliament on 29 August 2008, the tailings may last up to five decades on an 80,000 tones-a-year magnesium refinery. This will mean production of more ferronickel, magnetite and silica. The expense to be incurred on reprocessing should be in the region of $400 million, and can sustain at least 100 families if one member is employed from each of these at the mines. Taking the average Australian family size, this should be able to provide employment to anywhere between a third and half the entire affected community. This will mean rehabilitation while also providing employment. This is one of the means that can be considered Another point that is worth considering is that the total market value of the mines, with all the land and minerals it has, is estimated at over $50 billion. This makes it a proposition worth considering, because for the potential investor, even a worst case scenario is a return on the land appreciation. (ABC News, 2007) 7- Stepwise rehabilitation procedure 1.Identify process leading to degradation or decline Mine wastes are usually deficient in plant nutrients and will be deficient in nitrogen. Toxic ions from the waste of the mining may be preventing the vegetation of the area. The problem with heavy contaminated metal is the uptake of the metal of the plants in quantities that could be toxic to the general food chain. A complete understanding of the physical and chemical properties of tailings is essential for planning successful rehabilitation programs. It has been seen that biological methods of stabilization has been favored due to the effectiveness of long term surface stability, aesthetic improvements, developments of habitats and so on. The overburden on the soil will be damaging the top soil fraction and it will be making the soil less fertile. Without amelioration, the soil will not be useful for producing high nutrients and that has to be considered as a major issue. The difficulty in revegetating asbestos waste dumps is that barrens and tailings will be having low levels of nutrients and a high proportion of magnesium, calcium, nickel and chromium. Develop methods to ameliorate the degradation In clear dry arid areas, careful selection of species and expertise of foresters to revegetate such areas will have to be done and there has to be proper selection of shrubs for the mining area. The texture of the soil can be improved a lot by incorporating organic matter like straw, saw dust, wood chips, farmyard manure, and sewage sludge and so on. Eucalyptus camaldulensis has been used widely all over the world in mining vegetation and metal tolerant grasses can be used also.Chemical amelioration of metal waste and acidic waste can be done using surface treatment with lime.The development of largely insoluble fertilizer such as basic slug will be useful for slow releasing of compounds and that can help release of plant available nutrients over a long time. Rehabilitation goals The notable plant that has been growing in virtually in all situations and Helichrysum italicum and that can form a shrubby cushion and roots will grow deeply into substratum. Revegetation of asbestos mine has to be done in such a way that asbestos-bearing substrate will be stabilized and , will be reducing fiber dispersion into the air. There has to be increasing the level of moisture in the soil so that revegation will succeed and that can bring back the plants and animal species back. Design easily observable measures of success The first measure of success can be the growing of plants and that can start the proceedings of revegation and that can also change the way the water is purified and that can increase the moisture content in the soil thereby increasing the animal and plant species in the area. The rehabilitation of ecological function can be termed as successful or not by the aquatic environmental quality of the area and that is because water column will be purified in a good way. Rehabilitation techniques The main aim of the rehabilitation technique will be to reduce the Uncontained chrysotile fibres and restore the water and plant restoration. Document and Communication The rehabilitation goals, the process of the rehabilitation implementation, the result and the objectives that has to be achieved should be documented in detail. Keeping communicating with the whole ecological district development planner should be necessary, as that can make rehabilitation more sustainable. The rehabilitation can be efficient if it will be done after understanding the rehabilitation that has been done in other asbestos mining places in the world. Monitoring The monitoring of the site will be done in a professional manner and will be covering the wet and dry season and this will be done to ensure that the revegation will be taking place in a systematic manner. The ground water level will be monitored every three months to ensure that the water level is restored. There has to be monitoring to ensure that the community participation in the proposed project to be successful.There has to be monitoring of economic factors like the cost of rehabilitating the project and the advantage of getting rehabilitation done. Conclusion: Rehabilitation can be a long drawn out and expensive idea. In the case of the Woodsreef mines, a lot is at stake, because of the issues on hand and the number and kind of people involved. The way forward is to take a practical step that resettles the affected families, while also clearing the debris left behind by decades of heavy mining activity. As we saw, this itself can be converted into an opportunity. There has to be an ecological restoration in the sense that the animal and plant habitants affected by the activity should be rehabilitated. This renders the true meaning to the idea of conservation ecology It requires courage and fortitude to take hard decisions such as this. But the government, by implementing measures such as these, can set a bold precedent in the manner. This can set the ball rolling on issues concerning other major mines in the country and outside. References ABC News, “Lack of investors won’t defer Woodreef miner”, 2007,. Accessed on August 2009, available at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/16/2092542.htm Draper, Peter(Tamworth), Parliament of New South Wales, WOODSREEF ASBESTOS MINE SITE REHABILITATION, 2008 accessed on August 2009, available at http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/PARLMENT/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20080829019 Glen R.A and Butt B.C., Economic Geology; 1981; v. 76; no. 5; p. 1153-1169;. Available at http://econgeol.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/76/5/1153 Grant C. D., Campbell C.J and Charnock N.R., 2002,Selection of Species Suitable for Derelict Mine Site Rehabilitation in New South Wales, Australia, Water, Air and Pollution, Springer Netherlands, Vol. 139, Numbers 1-4, pp 215-235. Accessed on August 2009 ,Available at http://www.springerlink.com/content/tunvc9uqdn5bmur7/ Hoover Earl G. and Znamensky, V.S.1986, Chapter 10, “The Asbestos Controversy”, in Geology of Asbestos Deposits, accessed on August 2009. Available at http://www.onemine.org/search/summary.cfm/The-Asbestos-Controversy?d=B20449939AA33B56314C4089D47A6F5B3DAC3E0A80048FD21623E66D3183B3AA2514 Macdonald, Ian, Parliament of New South Wales, Woodsreef Asbestos Mine,. Accessed on August 2009 .Available at http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20081125031# Peacock, Matt, 2008. “Abandoned asbestos mine causes community outrage”, accessed on August 2009. Available at http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2008/s2334536.htm Restoration Ecology. (1992). The Futurist, 26, 51+. Retrieved August 2009 Zuckerman, S. (1988). Restoration Ecology: Living According to Nature. The Nation, 247, 340+. Retrieved August 2009 Read More

When operations closed down in 1983, Woods reef had caused considerable damage to the water source of the neighborhood.  The Barraba community had to face the consequences of losing the water source the 1200-member community that is based in the vicinity of the dumping site has had to breathe and live dangerously. It is known that 75 million tons of asbestos waste were left behind after operations wound up. This is spread over an area of nearly 300 acres; close to this, a 190-acre patch has been left with 25 million tons of tailings dumps. The stockpiles sit on an average height of 45, with some going up to 70 m.  

Given recently available data on the health effects of chrysotile asbestos, and the conclusions reached from the study and assessment of the site, emphasis must be placed on the need to carry out remediation works required in the Mill House and adjacent areas at Woodsreef Mine, in a manner that will be totally controlled by competent people in the safest possible way. The results of our laboratory test show that approximately 80% of the asbestos cement sheeting tested by this company contained chrysotile asbestos, with estimates of up to 40% by volume of chrysotile fiber. Results from medical reports indicate that the potential health hazards from chrysotile asbestos are as great as other types of asbestos and no complacency should exist as to the health hazards of this material when contemplating removal. With the majority of asbestos identified within the Mill House and adjacent areas being 100% pure chrysotile fiber, there must be an acceptance of the fact that a major health hazard does exist within these areas.

The cost of the rehabilitation was put in the region of $80 million, two decades back and this could be in the range of 100 to 160 million. Three government departments and agencies, the Department of Environment and Climate Change, the Department of Primary Industries, and the NSW Health have met on several occasions to discuss issues relating to rehabilitation. As of now, these three agencies hold the view that the findings of the agency remain valid. Among the chief debates, today are the closure of 2.4 kilometers of Crow Mountain Road that is at close range to the Woodsreef mine, the installation of a well-grounded air monitoring program, and eradication of the derelict mill and silos. The cost of all these is expected to be in the range of $3.3 million. (Macdonald, 2008)

Added to these, there is also the usual problem associated with any asbestos mine that of a proper analysis of asbestos quality. In the Woodreef case, the general public was not made very aware of the issues going on inside; also, the media, with whatever information it had on the issue, was continually whipping up a frenzy, often with little knowledge of the issues involved. (Hoover and Znamensky, 1986)

Glen and Butt, 1981 have argued that t heavy mining in the area over decades has left the ground unstable and tenuous. Massive mining hits have created serpentinite in stress-induced openings.

 It was discovered that the boundary walls had developed cracks. By August 2008, these were fixed under the Derelict Mines Program. Since then, no cracks have been found.  For this, it is estimated that the New South Wales Government spent well over $1 million, as well as on rehabilitation and safety issues at the site. Even as of now, the New South Wales Government has been planning to come out with rehabilitation at the Derelict Mines Program site. (Macdonald, 2008)

The site also has innumerable pits, most of which have large quantities of water. Asbestos is a source of pollution of these water bodies. There are also a vast number of buildings in the area that have not been fully rehabilitated. Uncontained chrysotile fibers are found throughout the site.   A private consultancy firm, Dames and Moore, was hired in 1997 to assess the risk prevalent at the Woodsreef mine site. It classified the risks into high, medium, and low categories. (Macdonald, 2008)

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