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Lead August 06, 2014 03:50:03 AM

Lead toxicants ruptures into water ways, Canada

Paul Ploumis
ScrapMonster Author
People of British Columbia is likely on water ban due to the out rush of whole lot of toxics into the B.C water ways from the outbreak of mine tailings from the 'Imperial Mine' on Monday morning.

Lead toxicants ruptures into water ways, Canada

OTTAWA (Scrap Monsters): The Hazeltine Creek of Cariboo Regional District was filled with about 5 million cubic meters of toxic fluid which was released from the Mount Polley mine.

Bill Bennett, the Environment Minister of British Colombia, on Tuesday stated that, such a tragic incident should never have taken place and he further commented that, the local officials are working on to clean the affected water ways and moderating the influence of the incident in among the residents as well as in the environment.  He also promised that, the officials will work on finding the cause of the leak.

Residents in the area are advised and strictly prohibited from consuming water of Cariboo, Quensel, Polley Lake and Hazeltine Creek.  Exception is made for the people living along side of Williams Lake and Fraser River.

The Founder of River’s day, Mark Angelo, commented that, the water in the creek is highly toxic. He added that the slurry consist of highly toxic heavy metals, as it was released from mine tailings; in which the main content may be 'lead' followed by 'arsenic' and other toxicants. He also warned that if the affected area is not cleaned as soon as possible, the toxicants may spread to unaffected part of the water system, likely Williams Lake and Fraser River.

Imperial metal deposition of metals like arsenic, mercury and lead was found in 2013 by National Pollution Inventory of Canada in Mount Polley.

The company, responsible for the outbreak responded the leak is sealed, even though the cause and amount of toxic substance leaked is not yet determined.

The statement produced by Imperial mines said that, they were relieved that no life was lost or harmed, as the protection and safety of their residents is the most important priority for them. It also said that, they are working hard on minimizing the effect of the leak on water ways. In the statement they also excused themselves by saying that the monitoring showed no signs of leakage from the mining trails.

Debating this statement an environment consultant Brian Olding stated that after examining the Mount Polley mine tailings, he found the storage of toxicants had been growing in very unsustainable condition. He also added that the company had been increasing the height of the toxic storage from months to hold on the large amount of toxic produced in check. Residents living near the affected water ways reported about feeling sick and uneasy.

Residents continue to complain that neither the environment consultants nor the company is reporting what actually happened. Many people working in the mine were also sent back home leaving them jobless. The reason behind this may be the crash of Imperial Mines stock market to 44% after the incident.

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