Old Mines, Old Explosives: Making Hazards Safe in Alaska's Parks

When the ANILCA parks were created, the National Park Service in Alaska was forced to deal with the physical hazards of mining on a scale never contemplated before. The new parks were huge, and their land had long been used for mining and other industrial purposes.

The hazards

Chief among the dangers were mine openings such as adits and shafts, abandoned explosives and the collapsing fabric of the mines. Mine sites ranged in size from simple prospecting pits to expansive placer mining areas and on to the Kennecott mines complex. The author, Logan Hovis, calls them attractive hazards that draw in the unwary and the unprepared: residents, visitors and staff.

Old explosives

In the 25 years before the article, the Park Service built an increasingly active and coherent program to identify, prioritize and mitigate such hazards. Abandoned explosives became a major issue after a misinformed effort to eliminate explosives at the Stampede Mine destroyed much of the site. The Service then set up a program of training, consultation and disposal aimed at the highest possible standard of safety for everyone involved. Numerous classes on the hazards of old explosives and how to identify them have been held for park staff and, on several occasions, park residents. Tons of explosives and thousands of blasting caps have been removed from the landscape and destroyed.

Closing the openings

Controlling access to underground workings was developed for public safety. The methods included foam plugs, slotted gates that bats can use but people cannot, and the deliberate collapse of existing openings. Care was taken to make sure the workings kept draining and stayed ventilated, to prevent other problems later. By the time of the article, 29 mine openings had been closed in parks as different as Glacier Bay, Kenai Fjords, Denali and Wrangell-St. Elias.

Hazards and history

Many mining areas are historically significant, so explosives management and mine closure were coordinated closely with cultural and natural resource managers to find the best ways to reduce often extreme hazards and protect public and employee safety with cultural sensitivity. Mine structures and other historic resources have been handled through park maintenance and preservation work based on park needs and historical significance. Non-historic structures were removed as funds allowed, to improve the appearance and safety of the mining districts. In some cases, structures in mining areas such as the Chisana and Bremner historic districts in Wrangell-St. Elias were rehabilitated and opened as public-use cabins.

The article's title carries its safety message: look but don't touch, stay out, stay alive.

Sources

• Logan Hovis, Physical Hazards Abatement: "Look but Don't Touch & Stay Out, Stay Alive", part of the series The Legacy of ANILCA, National Park Service; rewritten in hubnx's own words.