Early Tests Show B.C. Tailings Spill Water ‘Safe’

British Columbia’s Environment Ministrysays water that poured out of a massive mine-tailings pond Aug. 4 appears to be safe.

But local emergency officials continue towarn area residents against drinking, bathing or swimming in affected water.

Listen now:

This aerial image from a British Columbia emergency office video shows the Mount Polley dam break and some of the damage downstream.
This aerial image from a British Columbia emergency office video shows the Mount Polley dam break and some of the damage downstream.

Some tribal and environmental groups on both sides of the border doubt the test results. They say polluted water could damage salmon runs on the Fraser River, which enters the ocean at Vancouver.

Some of those fish swim north to Alaska. And a smaller Fraser River run could change Pacific Salmon Treaty allocations, reducing Alaska’s catch.

The dam break took place at the Mount Polley Mine, about 400 miles southeast of Ketchikan. Officials say the escaped wastewater and silt could fill almost 6,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. That’s almost three times an earlier estimate.

The central British Columbia open-pit copper and gold mine is owned by Vancouver-basedImperial Metals. The corporation plans to open the similar Red Chris Mine this year near the Stikine River, which ends near Wrangell.

The Environment Ministry says early tests showed levels of dissolved metals and acid are within government standards. It says the levels are also within limits that protect fish and other aquatic life.

But ministry officials say further tests are needed. It also says the tests could not measure all dissolved metals.

Critics say the province’s water-quality standards are too weak. They also say metal concentrations that don’t kill salmon can still disrupt their senses, making it difficult to find their spawning grounds.

The area affected by the dam break is home to a large sockeye fishery. The run is just starting and will peak in several weeks.

Ed Schoenfeld is Regional News Director for CoastAlaska, a consortium of public radio stations in Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell.

He primarily covers Southeast Alaska regional topics, including the state ferry system, transboundary mining, the Tongass National Forest and Native corporations and issues.

He has also worked as a manager, editor and reporter for the Juneau Empire newspaper and Juneau public radio station KTOO. He’s also reported for commercial station KINY in Juneau and public stations KPFA in Berkley, WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and WUHY in Philadelphia. He’s lived in Alaska since 1979 and is a contributor to Alaska Public Radio Network newscasts, the Northwest (Public Radio) News Network and National Native News. He is a board member of the Alaska Press Club. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he lives in Douglas.

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