The British Columbia Province of Canada, located directly above Seattle, Washington alongside the Pacific Northwest has been in the news for a possible ecological disaster. Hundreds of people in the British Columbia Province of Canada are at risk of water contamination after more than a BILLION gallons (1.3 B) of mining waste spilled into rivers and creeks in the Cariboo region. Katie Valentine from “Climate Progress” reports that a breach in a Tailings Pond from Mount Polley’s copper and gold mine sent approximately 1.3 billion gallons of slurry out into the Hazeltine Creek in B.C. The Tailings ponds from mineral mines store a mix of water, chemicals and left-over particles from mining operations. Some of the chemicals in this waste are believed that this mining waste can contain hazardous compounds like arsenic, mercury, and sulfur. Despite the potential disaster this could be for the environment in the area, the region itself does not have many inhabitants. The waste has currently caused a water ban for over 300 people who live in the small region, however, it is still unknown to authorities just how far the waste can possibly spread or what caused it. Right now, authorities are testing all waterways for contamination. A number of residents have reported seeing dead fish washing up from different bodies of water that looked “milky green.”
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