Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
Several additional mitigation measures could further decrease community exposure to mining
dusts. These additional measures, which are not currently part of RHR’s plans, include:
• Treating water from mine operations and related activities to EPA drinking water
standards.
• Allowing employees to wash their vehicles of dust that accumulated during the day
before leaving for home; or locating all private vehicles in a dust-protected area.
• Ensuring haul trucks are securely covered with a material that prevents radioactive dust
from exiting the mine site with the vehicles.
• Implementation of BMPs during all stages of the Project to reduce dust generation on the
Project site. This generally includes watering down areas prone to dust. Because of
existing arid conditions it may be necessary to implement specialized techniques to
reduce dust more effectively.
• Any complaints raised by local residents related to Project-related dust in the
communities should be followed up by Project personnel, and if relevant, regulatory
agencies. A phone number and/or email address should be made easily available so that
they can easily report any concerns.
• It is important to note that many of the exposure pathways for working conditions are
controlled through established work and safety regulations. In the past, health and safety
regulations were non-existent or followed very minimally, exposing workers and the
community to high levels of contaminants (Dawson, 1992; Head-Dylla et al., 2012;
Pasternak, 2010). This has generated a feeling of distrust amongst some stakeholders
including some past uranium miners. It will require strict enforcement of safety
regulations and good communication to gain the trust of the community and properly
manage risk perception regarding worker health and safety.
As with any carcinogen, any amount of exposure to radon and radium increases the risk of
developing cancer; however, due to the complicated etiologic pathway of cancer, it is not possible
to quantify the increase in cancer that mine workers or their families might face through the
described exposure pathways. Exposure pathways for families of workers are greatly mitigated
through diligent implementation of worker health and safety procedures.
Community Exposure to Traffic Emissions, Including Dust
Trucks, machinery, and heavy equipment used in mining activities use internal combustion
engines and gasoline or diesel fuel that upon combustion produce many EPA criteria pollutants.
The known pollutants in vehicle tailpipe exhaust include carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide,
ozone, particulate matter, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene). The health
impacts associated with these toxins include headaches, respiratory infections, eye and throat
irritation, asthma, heart attacks, lung damage, impaired fetal development, and cancer (USEPA,
2011b). Because of these health impacts, the EPA has established limits on the amount of
emissions humans can be exposed to from industrial projects. Dust from road traffic may also
exacerbate existing respiratory conditions.
Project-related traffic will comprise both vehicles used to transport materials and equipment and
private vehicles used to transport workers. Because of the remote location of the project and the
use of rural roads for transporting materials and workers to and from the site it is unlikely that
DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest 411