Toxic Coal Mine Waste Knows No Border

“Massive open-pit coal mines in British Columbia are leaching high concentrations of selenium into the Elk River watershed, damaging fish populations and contaminating drinking water. Now this pollution is flowing across the Canadian-U.S. border, threatening the quality of U.S. waters.”

A recent article from Yale Environment 360 explores the problem of selenium pollution from mines in the valley of the Elk River in British Columbia. The toxic waters flow from the Elk River to the Kootenai and downstream across the international border into Montana.

” Environmental groups now are raising concerns about harm to the ecosystem, ranging from the Elk River’s tributaries to waters downstream that cross into the United States. They also point to risks for human health in communities nearest to the mines, where selenium is contaminating drinking water. Meanwhile, tensions on both sides of the border are escalating: U.S. members of a binational water regulator sounded alarm bells last year, charging that Canadian members were suppressing scientific evidence related to the selenium pollution and its risks to the ecosystem and human health. The situation in the Elk has been called “a monumental selenium spill in slow motion.””

Watch this great video from The Narwhal on the problem.