Vale said it has taken measures to control tailings dust that was raising concern among Lively residents over the past few days.
Lively residents took to Facebook on Thursday, saying there was a “haze” in the air over Lively and surrounding areas, and that it was tailings dust from Vale’s central tailings area.
Vale spokesperson Danica Pagnutti said in an email the central tailings area was subject to significant dusting this morning due to high winds and freezing temperatures.
“Our tailings team immediately enacted additional dust control measures including dispatching trucks to spray roads with dust suppressant and water, spreading hay over tailings areas and raising water levels in the tailings area to mitigate the event,” said Pagnutti. “With the temperature rising this afternoon, the dusting event has subsided and returned to normal levels.
“Vale is very committed to dust control and it is an ongoing activity in our central tailings area to reduce potential impacts to our employees, the community and the environment.”
Pagnutti said dust from Vale's tailings operations contain trace amounts of quartz, nickel, copper and sulphur that can mix with road dust and other sources of dust in the natural environment and become airborne.
“This dust can cause irritation to the eyes and respiratory system,” said Pagnutti. “Vale has a very rigorous dust-control program to prevent dust from leaving our property, however, on days like today despite our best efforts, it's very challenging given the weather conditions.”
