Pollution action dropped against manganese mine

Jeffrey Libby

Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 | 10:28 a.m.

All appears to be quiet and relatively dust-free downwind of an abandoned World War II-era manganese mine east of Henderson.

The Clark County Air Pollution Control Board, a division of the Clark County Health District, on Thursday dropped pending action against owners of the Three Kids Mine, based on a report from compliance manager Bob Folle.

"It's all over," Folle said. "We showed the board photographs, we showed them videotape, all taken with 37 mph winds. We were out there Friday for four or five hours. The crust looks real good."

Inspectors returned to the 150-acre open-pit mine last week after boat storage owner Laird Sanders told the control board that potentially toxic black dust continued to blow from the site onto his Lake Mead Drive business.

The control board cited three land owners for the blowing dust in June 2001 after nearby residents and businesses complained about the mine, which has been dormant since the early 1960s.

The owners, Three Kids Enterprises, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management, agreed to pay an estimated $80,000 to spray a plastic coating over the 300-foot-deep mine to control the dust.

The black dust contains high concentrations of cancer-causing heavy metals, including arsenic, lead and manganese, the state Division of Environmental Protection has said.

Sanders, who did not attend the hearing Thursday, said in a phone interview that the black dust continues to plague his Lake Mead Drive business, accumulating on desk tops and finding its way into boat engines, armoires and other items. He could not say whether it has been in any way diminished.

"It's good the health district has gone this far, but it's just frustrating. The fine, fine dust still does blow," Sanders said, adding that he wears a respirator when cleaning up the dust. "If I didn't, I'd be an idiot."