Introduction
Teck is a mining company that focuses on mining zinc, copper, energy, and steelmaking coal. Aside from their operations in Canada, Teck also operates in Peru, Chile, and the United States (Teck, n.d.). Furthermore, the goal of this paper is to determine if there have been issues with the safety performance of Teck and the measures Teck did to overcome safety issues.
Body
Teck is said to be a company devoted to the responsible development of their products, and likewise to the safety of their employees and the environment. Teck had also received multiple awards and recognition for its dedication to conserve the environment despite its many operations in the four countries (Globe Awards, 2014). However, this did not mean that Teck has no safety issue in the environment.
On 2012, Teck had confessed that it had polluted a River in Washington (Columbia River) for almost a hundred years due to the effluent discharge of their smelters (Howe). In order to make up for this, Teck had been involved with environmental improvements in the area and had used up more than a billion dollars to remediate the river. In addition to this, Teck have been conducting studies on the effects of their polluting activities in the region (Moore, 2012). Furthermore, there are a variety of choices that may be done to improve Teck’s safety performance. Among them are reducing their waste by utilizing them as raw products, or re-engineering their operations. Teck may also reduce their inputs such as water, energy, and land disruption to further aid the environment (Fraser Institute, 2012).
Conclusion
Mining and other operations that involve the environment have the obligation to reduce or eliminate the damage that they may cause. Moreover, the government also takes part in this obligation as they set the parameters and the guideline, and decide which operations would continue.
References
Fraser Institute. (2012). How can Mining become more Environmentally Sustainable? Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://www.miningfacts.org/Environment/How-can-mining-become-more-environmentally-sustainable/#sthash.vDak2DkA.dpuf
Globe Awards. (2014). The 2014 Globe Awards Winners. Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://theglobeawards.ca/home/winners/
Howe, M. (2012). Teck Confesses to a Century of US River Pollution. Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://www.mining.com/teck-confesses-to-a-century-of-us-river-pollution-22974/
Moore, D. (2012). Teck Resources Admits Polluting Columbia River For 100 Years; Damage To Be Assessed. The Canadian Press.
Teck. (n.d.). Operations. Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://www.teck.com/operations/
