Friday, March 21, 2025
Teck, Canadian resource company, is developing a Wide Area Remediation Plan (WARP) for the Lower Columbia River valley, which will set out measures to address impacts related to historical air emissions from the smelter in Trail, British Columbia.
The WARP will incorporate a recommendation from a Medical Health Officer that will guide remediation measures for lead. A WARP is defined in the B.C. Contaminated Sites Regulation as “a remediation plan for an environmental management area for one or more specific substances which have originated from one or more sources specified in the plan.”
Teck has made significant improvements over the decades to reduce emissions, achieving a 99.5 per cent reduction in lead stack emissions since 1997. However, historical emissions have affected soils in areas of the Lower Columbia River valley, posing potential risks to human health and the environment.
The WARP formalizes Teck’s commitment to addressing these impacts and developing a strategy that complies with provincial regulations.
Feedback from the community is requested on three main topics:
- Medical Health Officer recommendation to protect human health
- Proposed measures to protect human health
- Approach to restoring ecological health
The WARP Discussion Guide provides an overview of the plan itself and information on the three feedback topics.
Technical information for the three engagement topics is available here:
- Draft Wide Area Remediation Plan for the Environmental Management Area related to Historical Aerial Emissions from Teck Trail Operations
- Medical Health Officer Recommendation Under Contaminated Sites Regulation Sections 18 and 18.1 – Risk-based Standards for Lead (Pb) for the Environmental Management Area Surrounding Teck Trail Operations
- Draft Human Health Risk Assessment for Lead (Pb) for the Environmental Management Area Surrounding Teck Trail Operations
- Analysis of Variables Influencing Children’s Blood Lead Levels in Trail BC
There are also print versions available at the local library.
Featured image credit: Getty Images
