Selenium Pollution in the Elk Valley w/ Simon Wiebe

Episode Notes

This episode features an interview with Simon Wiebe, a former mineral exploration geologist and Mining Policy and Impacts Researcher with Wildsight.

Wildsight recently commissioned a groundbreaking report shedding light on the staggering costs associated with reversing selenium pollution, estimated at $6.4 billion dollars. Simon unpacks the report's findings and discusses their implications.

We kick off the conversation by exploring Wildsight's mission and what drove them to commission the report. Simon breaks down the science behind selenium contamination, its pathways into BC's waterways, and the ecological havoc it wreaks. The report's revelation that Teck's current reclamation security falls woefully short—$1.9 billion versus the needed $6.4 billion—leads to a discussion on the implications of this gap for future reclamation efforts.

You can access the report here: https://wildsight.ca/2024/03/19/the-elk-valleys-6-4-billion-pollution-problem/

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