B.C. smelter reports spill from broken pipe

A British Columbia smelter released about 24 gallons of wastewater tainted with heavy metals on Wednesday, but it’s unclear if the water reached the Columbia River.

The discharge occurred at Teck Resources’ smelter complex in Trail, B.C. A pipe carrying runoff from a landfill to a water treatment facility apparently broke, company officials said. The discharge lasted for 15 to 20 minutes. Some of the water may have entered Stoney Creek, a tributary to the Columbia.

The B.C. Ministry of the Environment was notified. Company officials said no risks to human health resulted from the spill, and monitoring will be done to assess potential environmental impacts.

The smelter is one of the world’s largest zinc and lead smelting operations. The company has been sued by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the state of Washington over past discharges of smelter slag, which created “black sand” beaches along the Columbia River.