North Idaho Mining and its environmental issues (Coeur d'Alene, Rathdrum: buying, construction)

[Boone1791]

Originally Posted by ejay

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...o-governor-or/
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...e-coeur-dalen/
https://www.lung.org/media/press-rel...as-some-of-the
The lake and pollution is a real problem here. And the local government wants to keep it quiet.

I don't think it's the local government that requires a subscription to read the Spokesman-Review. And the link to that lung.org site is about air quality, not lake water quality. Air quality is one of the reasons I moved from the inversion-prone Salt Lake valley to North Idaho. Yeah, we can get some pretty bad smoke from fires elsewhere for a few weeks during the summer. But then the air clears up....

Originally Posted by ejay

https://publicdocuments.dhw.idaho.go...DOCUMENTS&cr=1
There is a recommendation from the state to limit how many fish you consume from lake cda.....

That link doesn't seem to work either....

[nm9stheham]

Originally Posted by ejay

Your swimming in that water too. So how do you not get contaminated when the fish clearly are?

Perhaps because you are not getting all of your food from the lake, not feeding off of the lake bottom, and not 'breathing' the water through your lungs/gills? And, skin is a terrific barrier for diseases and contaminants.

Originally Posted by ejay

The post made above my posts says there is no limit on eating fish .

Nowhere that I can find anyone stating anywhere in this thread that there were no limits on eating fish from this lake......???? I can't find the word 'limit' until your last post, so did I miss something? If you are going to make this claim, then it would be best to use the quote tool to show the text in question.



Comments made were about the fish being safe to eat.... which your linked advisory from the state shows. This is all based upon mercury levels found in fish tissues, BTW.



Similar recommended consumption limits are issued in many waters of the country. The worst case of pollution carry warnings to not eat any fish of any type..... so the full perspective here is that this lake's recommended limits are not anywhere near the bad end of the spectrum of fish eating limits. Plus, the EPA & FDA recommends not eating any of the highest order predatory fish from the ocean, like swordfish and 6 other species, due to naturally occurring mercury that concentrates in the tissues of all higher order fishes. (Like the bass and pike from the lake in question here....) So perspective is important in making judgements on such matters, IMHO



We all get that you are very upset over the cancer of your child, and desire to prevent a similar situation for others; most of us are parents and so are very sympathetic to your situation, despite some having a different policy view.

[nm9stheham]

Originally Posted by Boone1791

I don't think it's the local government that requires a subscription to read the Spokesman-Review. And the link to that lung.org site is about air quality, not lake water quality. Air quality is one of the reasons I moved from the inversion-prone Salt Lake valley to North Idaho. Yeah, we can get some pretty bad smoke from fires elsewhere for a few weeks during the summer. But then the air clears up....


That link doesn't seem to work either....

Yeah, I looked at that one too and it involves ozone and fire smoke particles, not chemicals in the dust. Speculation on problems helps no one....like the mention of radon. Radon occurs naturally in all rock, and is an issue that should be considered in about 1/3 of the USA's territory, where extensive amounts of rock are exposed at, or are near, to the surface.



Try this link for the Idaho fish limit recommendations:
https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/h...ish-advisories

[ejay]

https://www.idahoconservation.org/bl...-coeur-dalene/

[nowhereman427]

This would be worse than agricultural pesticides and chemical run off?

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Shaner

I dont, but I only eat ocean fish. Friends do and they have no issues.

Yes fresh from the ocean is best.

[banjomike]

It's all up to the individual to decide what their personal threat level is from our environment.

The bare fact is Idaho is not pristine, even if it appears to be on the surface. There is a lot of contamination here from the top of the state, where the contamination is arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals, to the bottom of the state where the contamination is phosphorous, and arsenic, lead, mercury, and radioactive materials.

Ironically, some of our ugliest landscapes are the most environmentally pure. No one wants to live in them so they're still natural and undisturbed.

Some natural, others man-made. Idaho's fractured geology has created lots of dangerous deposits, and for over 100 years, humans have been busy spreading the contamination out as widely as possible.

Once in a while, Mother Nature also decides to hand us a whammy. Last summer, the wildfire smoke was so thick here for months it nearly sent me to the hospital, and I'm still recovering right now, months later.
Not one of those fires was in Idaho. All the smoke came from fires in other states. As soon as one fire went out, some new fire would send us smoke from a new direction.

That's how life is here. There are hazards a person can plan to avoid, and hazards they can't avoid at all.

[dcisive]

I read some years ago now that they had determined that the toxins left over from years of mining had in fact become part of the sediment in the lake. It is a times stirred up a bit but not to where it poses a threat to visiting. I wouldn't eat fish from the lake that is for certain. Here are a few links describing some of the conditions.

https://www.usgs.gov/centers/id-wate...center_objects

https://www.spokaneriverkeeper.org/r...d-and-the-ugly

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...valley-mining/

[Boone1791]

Originally Posted by lovecda

My brother in law led a study regarding the pollution in Coeur d'Alene lake for work towards his masters....

So, lots of talk about Coeur d'Alene. What about Pend Oreille?

[ejay]

TR82June
Cda lake and Spokane river.
Clark fork river has been polluted by the anaconda mine.
https://www.deq.idaho.gov/water-qual...ower-subbasin/
It seems to me that real estate values in the area take precedent over clean land. If the epa starts the clean up like they should have in 1998 the land prices here would reflect that. But since they have tried to hope that the waste stays at the bottom of the lake. It has not been staying there. In the spring run off can push these sediments into the water. The locals know about this we have been watching them ignore this for decades. Mayor Steve Judy said the lake water is fine. But when challenged to go down and take a fresh drink from city beach he declined. The health of your local citizens should be a top priority. Me Hagadone is definitely not for lake clean up. It would hurt his business holdings. Why should a few elected officials keep the public from having a clean lake. Greed is what started this problem. And it seems like greed is also keeping it from being fixed. Now is the time to start pressuring them to act. I’m all for cleaning up the lake and it’s wet lands. It’s a hazard that needs to be fixed before it destroys the entire lake.