(Also known as Mount Polley Mine disaster) Anyone (besides me) following this? Pretty bad, worst mining disaster in B.C. history
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CEgQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMount_Polley_mine_disaster&ei=p3DmU9TJFKW-igLrlYCACw&usg=AFQjCNHKNUWPHBF8Nm2jAFQk7VXGvMKvLw&sig2=CaB-2qXW9CxUYbPD_QH3hQ&bvm=bv.72676100,d.cGE&cad=rja
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=video&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews.ca%2Fvideo%2F1491285%2Fmount-polley-mine-disaster-contaminated-water-causes-water-ban%2F&ei=w3LmU4GSIcmFogTUpIBQ&usg=AFQjCNEBdKe377P5B2h6rw61A208mEc6Dg&sig2=puhjglzJLSGBmD7VGt0vSw
been watching and reading the news on it.....pretty sad.
Especially so considering they had been warned that the dike was leaking.
That's the first I'd heard of it. Sounds terrible.
My daughter is an Enviromental Engineer and says there is no way this could have happened other than the company simply did not listen!!!
Bingo! Apparently the almighty dollar is more important to some than to others. I'm sure your daughter could answer this correctly, but I am assuming they would have to have leak detection in place, along with slope monitoring to know if and when the face of the dam (berm) begins to move. There is no way this dam "just let go with no warning". There would have been warning signs, such as dampness along the exposed face, 'sinkholes' on the surface of both top and exposed face, etc, as well as any movement of the dam itself (slope monitoring). Not having worked in a mine environment I cannot say for sure, but in the gas industry we have to have such things in place for sumps, tank farms, pipeline right of ways in steep geographical areas; I would assume a lot of these safety measures would be similar. Just sayin'.
Right you are! She has experience with tailings ponds and says they require all sorts of pressure monitoring. Plus the allowance for overfill would have initiated numerous alerts to the company before it got so high. The sides are built with lots of extra height to allow for storms, spring run off, etc.
Sadly, one of the most beautiful and pristine lakes and streams in the province have been altered...and I highly doubt all the cleanup and remediation in the world will bring it back. :(
turning into a real mess both for the environment and for the politics and Natives, will be a long clean up on all fronts.