USW Local 7619 members raise alarms over dust exposure at Highland Valley Copper

Employees of Teck’s Highland Valley Copper Mine in the Logan Lake area say concerns around dust exposure have hit an all-time high. This month, safety equipment requirements at Highland Valley ramped up in response to silica dust exposure measurements.

Members of the United Steelworkers Local 7619 who work at the mine say employees working in certain areas were told that respirator masks and other personal protective equipment now needs to be worn for the duration of their shifts in order to reduce their exposure to silica dust.

And the USW branch representing those employees wants to have more information shared by the company about the risks and a faster implementation of long-term solutions.

“It seems that the numbers around dust and the respirable dust in the areas are so significant that our employees are now being told to wear mandatory masks at all times in the concentrator area,” explains USW Local 7619 President Kyle Wolff.

“We’ve been mining up there for more than 50 years and dust has always been an issue. But the last four-to-six years have been pretty significant in regards to how we’re trying to deal with it,” says Wolff. “The company has made a lot of big promises around getting dust extractors and dust containment issues in place and they haven’t done so.”

Highland Valley was contacted by CFJC for comment. The company did not provide a representative for an interview but sent an emailed response:

“Ensuring our people go home healthy and safely every day is a core value for Teck and the priority in our operations. We are committed to continuously improving our standards and implementing best practices that result in occasional changes as new advancements become available.

HVC is continually taking proactive measures to reduce occupational exposure to dust. This includes personal protective equipment for employees, water trucks, dust suppression systems, annual exposure reduction plans and health screening programs. As part of this work, we have expanded use of dust-protection respirators to include the mill grinding facilities and further areas of the operations. We also have a dedicated dust reduction committee with representatives from USW and management who meet on an ongoing basis to receive regular updates on progress and direct actions to reduce exposure.

HVC follows health-based dust standards set by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). These standards are applied across all Teck operations and exceed BC government standards. We are committed to working directly with the union and local stakeholders to ensure the health and safety of our people, our surrounding communities and the environment.”

“We have dust committees, we have members who are engaged in the dust, they file complaints with their supervisors, they’re going through monthly meetings, safety meetings. It’s been a topic of conversation for as long as I’ve been there, almost nearly 20 years,” reiterates Wolff. “But all of a sudden, it’s so dangerous that employees have to wear masks? It didn’t get there overnight. It didn’t get there yesterday. It’s been happening for years.”

USW says it wants to see expedited timelines for long term solutions and more information on the actual exposure risk, especially where the highest risk areas are on the worksite.

“The concerns that people are bringing up are legitimate. We’ve had members who have received or gotten silicosis in the past and it’s a life-altering disease. It’s something that can ultimately end your life early and the concerns around what it can do to you are extreme,” adds Wolff.