Abandoned mines pose 'ominous' threat

The federal government is "putting the public's health and safety at risk" by not cleaning up safety and contamination hazards at abandoned mines on public land in the West, the Interior Department's inspector general said in a blistering report issued on July 25. Abandoned mines in California, Arizona and Nevada have "ominous" potential for causing more deaths, and government supervisors have ordered staffers to ignore the problems, according to the new report. Based on visits to more than 45 abandoned mines, the report concludes that dangerous levels of contaminants such as arsenic, lead and mercury are present at sites easily accessible to the public. It also says that several adults and children have fallen to their deaths in abandoned mines that often remain uncovered. "The potential for more deaths or injuries is ominous," the report states. The office said a "limited search" of accident records showed that 12 people were killed at abandoned mines from 2004 to 2007. It states that Bureau of Land Management supervisors, apparently worried about liability and cost, told staff members to ignore these problems and that employees "were criticized or received threats of retaliation" for identifying contaminated sites. The report, which calls on both BLM and the Park Service to overhaul their programs for securing abandoned mines, also suggested that BLM supervisors have tried to cover up the problem. "One employee stated that adding sites to the inventory list and declaring them unsafe was more detrimental to BLM because doing so acknowledged a hazard and a potential liability," the document said. It's unclear exactly how many abandoned mines exist. The California Department of Conservation estimates about 47,000 in the state. Some estimates put the number nationwide as high as 500,000. The inspector general's report says that several employees informed investigators about "threats against their careers" for reporting abandoned mine sites. One employee was told by a field office manager not to identify abandoned mine sites because it distracted from other land management activities. The report says that abandoned mines pose dangers including deadly gases, asphyxiation, collapsing walls, explosive and toxic chemicals, and rotting structures.