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The Giant Mine Remediation Team plans to demolish the heavily-contaminated roaster complex at the mine next summer. - Svjetlana Mlinarevic/NNSL photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A surface cleanup of Giant Mine cannot wait any longer and must begin next summer, said Adrian Paradis, acting manager of the Giant Mine Remediation Team.

Paradis is responding to critics this week who say the federal government is doing an end-run around a required environmental assessment of the mine cleanup, by declaring the demolition of several heavily-contaminated buildings an emergency that requires urgent action. Paradis said the surface cleanup was covered during public hearings by the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board last September.

"It's undergone an environmental assessment and the EA has had the public hearings closed up in September. We're currently awaiting the report of the EA so the environmental assessment is more or less complete," said Paradis.

"What we're looking to do, and what we're having to do is, the roaster is falling apart so we're having to address it."

The roaster complex at the mine currently holds 700 tonnes of arsenic trioxide and, once demolished, will generate approximately 90,000 cubic meters of waste, according to an independent risk assessment of Giant Mine completed by Robertson GeoConsultants Inc., in 2010, which was submitted to the review board.

Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley called Giant Mine "probably the most polluted site in Canada" in the legislative assembly on Oct. 25, arguing the 273,000 tonnes of arsenic in the 15 underground chambers at the mine site is "enough to kill all life on earth."

Bromley said he is concerned the government hasn't considered all its options nor listened to citizens regarding containment of arsenic at the mine, especially when it comes to dismantling the roaster complex.

"The roaster is something that, rather than wait until a review is complete and so on, the (Government of Canada) is proposing to go ahead, and I see now in the last couple of evenings they've had public sessions on their plans to go ahead with that and I know there has been a lot of public concern expressed. So it's mostly a process concern there," said Bromley earlier this week.

"They haven't even completed the review and they're already proposing exceptions to it."

Roy Erasmus Sr., acting chief of Ndilo, however, said he is not concerned by the government's plan to tackle the surface cleanup ahead of the environmental assessment report.

"It appears as though they have a point about demolishing it quickly," said Erasmus Sr.

"I attended the meetings with technicians and people seem to think that it was a good idea to do that and it had to be done all at one crack because of the way the buildings are hooked up."

Paradis said the remediation team will have plenty of safeguards in place once the surface cleanup begins, including wetting down the area to control dust and tarping the area off to prevent arsenic dust from escaping.

"You would wind up tarping the entire area off and creating essentially large tents which would then be put under pressure so that you have a pressure difference between the outside and the inside that creates a negative pressure," said Paradis.

"That way if something gets released into the air that will actually be sucked back into the workspace versus going out into the general area."

While Paradis acknowledges arsenic dust may escape, he said there will be environmental monitoring controls and procedures in place to prevent or limit the impact.

The government has already sought out contractors and is awaiting detailed deconstruction plans, according to Paradise.

The government plans to spend $449 million implementing the cleanup plan at Giant Mine, not including $14.9 million over the next 21 months for care and maintenance of the site.

Clean up of the site will decrease the amount of arsenic being released in the environment but it will not eliminate it, according to a 2010 report submitted to the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development by Robertson GeoConsultants Inc.

The current level of arsenic released at the site is approximately 500 kg per year. After remediation it's expected to be less than 200 kg per year.

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