Managing air quality is an important part of the environmental management programs at all of our operations. Air pollutants associated with mining and mineral processing can include particulate matter (e.g., fine and coarse dust that can include metals) and gases.
Dust at operations is generated by a variety of sources, such as vehicle traffic on mine roads, dumping rock onto waste piles, and blasting and crushing. Dust can also be generated during the transportation of mineral products along the supply chain. The release of these materials has the potential to create health, environmental or aesthetic concerns among our stakeholders, if not appropriately managed.
Our communities and stakeholders have increasingly identified air quality as a key concern at many of our operations. Effectively managing air quality is integral to our sustainability strategy and for building positive relations with surrounding communities. Our goal is to continuously improve air quality and reduce dust emissions for the benefit of workers, communities and the environment in areas affected by our activities.
The Safety and Sustainability Committee of the Board broadly oversees health, safety, environment and community policies, systems, performance and auditing, including implementation of our Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) Management Standards.
The following senior leaders are involved in implementing the management of air quality:
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The Senior Vice President, Sustainability and External Affairs reports directly to our CEO and is responsible for sustainability, health and safety, environment, community, and Indigenous affairs, including air quality
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The Vice President, Environment oversees the work conducted by site-based air quality leads, and provide air management expertise to research, evaluate and share best practices, to provide for consistency across the organization, and to support operations and resource development projects
At each of our operations, we have a designated team who leads Teck’s work in managing air quality. These employees are responsible for monitoring emissions to the air and using the results to inform and implement improved air management practices.
Our Code of Sustainable Conduct outlines our commitment to continually improve our environmental practices and to ensure they are fully integrated into each of our activities.
We work with various local, national and international organizations and programs to support our efforts in improving air quality:
We implement numerous measures to minimize impacts on the local air quality within the vicinity of our operations. Depending on the specific activities and conditions at each operation, these measures may include:
- Wetting roads
- Applying sealants and dust suppressants to material stockpiles, roadways and railcars
- Minimizing exposure of tailings and other materials to air where possible
- Using cover systems for trucks and railcars, where feasible
- Storing and handling materials indoors, where feasible
- Enclosing ore stockpiles
- Using ventilation systems with particulate filtration for conveyors and buildings
- Modifying blasting practices to reduce dust
We regularly monitor and report on sources of air emissions and ambient air quality at our operations. Monitoring methods include real-time particulate monitors and high-volume monitors programmed to sample air over a 24-hour period as well as dust fall jars for assessing dust levels over longer periods.
Information collected from both on-site and off-site weather stations, in conjunction with data collected from our air monitoring programs, allows us to determine relationships between dust levels, wind patterns and precipitation. In addition, these local weather stations facilitate timely responses to changes in weather patterns that may affect the surrounding air quality. We review and adjust activities, based on monitoring results, to maintain or improve air quality.
We have extensive monitoring programs in place at particular operations to reduce fugitive dust associated with our activities. At Red Dog, Highland Valley Copper, Elkview, Greenhills, Line Creek, Fording River and Cardinal River operations, these efforts are focused on ambient air quality monitoring, while at Carmen de Andacollo and Trail operations, they are focused both on ambient air quality and weather monitoring.
As the transportation of our products can result in dust generation, we work with our railway transportation partners in Alberta and British Columbia to mitigate impacts. We prevent dust during the transportation of our steelmaking coal by managing load levels, creating a low-profile, compacted surface and applying sealant sprays to materials in railcars.
We also work with our port terminal suppliers to manage dust on-site, including the use of automated dust-suppression systems. We have programs in place, along with other partners in our supply chain, to monitor the performance of and continuously improve our dust management systems.
Our sustainability strategy outlines our goals in relation to air quality at our operations.
By 2020, we will:
- Improve monitoring and understanding of our releases to air and the potential impacts on people, communities and the environment
- In consultation with communities, governments and other organizations, set air quality goals and establish risk-based action plans to achieve goals
- Strengthen the integration of air quality considerations into early stage project development
By 2030, we will:
- Partner with communities, governments and other organizations to facilitate action and the sharing of knowledge to continuously improve air quality
- Contribute to measurable and meaningful improvements in areas where our activities impact air quality
For more information on our existing and new sustainability strategy goals, see the Sustainability Strategy section of our website.
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Type
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Organization
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Items Reviewed
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External
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International Council on Mining and Metals: Sustainability Report assurance
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- Total SO2 emissions from stacks, stationary and mobile fossil fuel combustion
- Percentage of selected community-based air quality stations (three stations) with annual mean concentrations of ambient PM2.5 within World Health Organization guideline value of 10 μg/m3
- Principle 6: Pursue continual improvement in environmental performance issues, such as water stewardship, energy use and climate change
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External
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ISO 14001 External Audit
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- Components of the environmental management system at each site
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Internal
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Risk-based Health, Safety and Environment audits
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- Adherence to regulatory and permit requirements
- Effectiveness of controls based on risk profile
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Following each of these types of verification, applicable management teams use the results to inform future actions and Teck’s five-year planning process.
We report on our performance against these indicators and our progress towards our air quality management goals on an annual basis in our sustainability report. [INSERT LINK]
