Chase Henry Berkley Pitt

The Berkeley Pit, an old copper mine in Montana, is now filled with water contaminated with sulfuric acid. The high acidity levels are toxic to humans and animals. In 2016, a snowstorm caused the death of 3,000 geese that came into contact with the acidic water. Scientists are trying to raise the pH levels by using a lime treatment system. They are also scaring birds away from the toxic water with loud noises and explosives. Efforts are being made to undo the harm caused by mining and protect wildlife. Hello, everybody. My name is Henry. I'm here with Chase Davidson, an environmental expert on the Berkeley Pit. Hello, everyone. My name is Chase. I've been doing research on the pit for around five years at this point. It's so great to have you on the show, Chase. For those of you who don't know, the Berkeley Pit was a copper mine ever since the 1800s. Up until 1950, the mining had consisted of digging copper-dense roots. When the 1950s began, they started excavating a large pit rather than digging specific roots. Water began seeping through the tunnels and filled the pit with water. Chase, tell me some of the background on the Berkeley Pit. As you explained, this one-mile-wide pit is now filled with water. The rock in the pit is iron pyrite-dense rock, which over many years contaminated the waters with sulfuric acid and raised the pH levels significantly. Were any other areas contaminated? Yes. Duke, Montana has 26 miles of streams. Since the late 1800s, mining waste has been dumped into streams and wetlands in and around Duke. What are the consequences of this contamination? Well, the pH was once as low as 2.2, and it was recently recorded as around 4.1. And to put that into perspective, a normal pH for lakes and drinking would be around 7. A high pH level becomes toxic for humans and animals to not only drink, but for smaller animals to be around for a longer period of time, which could be lethal. On November 18, 2016, a snowstorm hit Butte, Montana. This forced over 60,000 geese to circle the Berkeley Pit. The researchers attempted to scare them off, but their efforts only went so far. The snowstorm resulted in the death of 3,000 geese on the Berkeley Pit. What's the science behind the death of the geese? Well, there's two main reasons they died. The first being because they are coming into contact with the acidic water. Simply coming into contact with this water is enough to seriously impact a bird. Obviously, they can come into contact with it, but when it becomes dangerous is when they are spending eight plus hours in direct contact with the water. In the case of the November 18 geese, they were on the lake for upwards of 18 hours. The second reason why they are dying is because of them drinking and digesting the water. Drinking acidic water can cause extreme burns and decomposing of the tracheae and other internal organs. What's been done to undo the harm to the toxic body of water? In 1982, the water in the pit was rising about 6 to 7 feet per year, but the water level is now maintained and trying to be circled. Scientists are trying to raise the pH level of the water. They are trying to make the metals in the water precipitate or form solids and drop out of the water. According to pitwash.org, scientists have instigated a lime treatment system, which would raise the pH of the Berkeley Pit water, which is lime with an approximate pH of 12.5. And we aren't talking about your everyday fruit limes. Lime is an extremely basic inorganic material composed of primarily calcium oxides and hydroxides. In this lime treatment, is this lime treatment in fact lowering the pH level? The lime is significantly more basic than the acidic water, which is rapidly raising the pH levels. The pH went from around 2.2 up to now up to around 4.1, which isn't great, but it's definitely an improvement. Are there any other ways scientists are trying to limit the amount of deaths of birds? Scientists are firing weapons in the vicinity of the birds that land on the water in an attempt to scare them away. Additionally, they lay fireworks and other loud explosives to get them to stay off the toxic water. Thank you so much, Chase. That's all the time we have today. The Berkeley Pit has sadly been a reason of death for thousands of geese. Scientists are working hard to not only disinfect the pit, but also scare away the birds. To all the hardworking scientists who work day and night to dampen the effects of our mining past, your efforts have not gone unnoticed. Thank you so much for having me, Henry. It was great to share my knowledge on the Berkeley Pit, and I hope this topic gets heard by many people around the world. Thank you, everyone. My name is Henry, and you are listening to my podcast.