The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation reported the spill of up to 400,000 gallons of water used at a large lead and zinc mine in Northern Alaska early Wednesday. According to the department, the spill of “process water” occurred at about 2:30 a.m. at the Red Dog Mine, located around 80 miles north of Kotzebue.
“The spill of process water did land mostly in containment, but some of it did reach Red Dog Creek,” said Kathy Shea, a department spokesperson. “So water samples are being taken in the creek and downstream just to see if there are any impacts to that waterway.”
According to Shea, an estimated 100 to 1,000 gallons spilled from a gravel containment area onto the tundra and into Red Dog Creek, which flows into Ikalukrak Creek. The creek flows into the larger Wulik River and Arctic Ocean. The watershed is a spawning ground for chum salmon.
Shea said the spill triggered a response from her department, the Environmental Protection Agency and Teck Alaska Inc., the owner and operator of the mine.
A representative from Teck said in an email that 180,000 gallons of treated process water spilled, which is less than half the amount reported by the DEC.
The company said local communities, regulators and NANA Regional Corporation have been notified. The communities of Noatak and Kivalina are closest to the mine.
The company said they did not anticipate impacts to human health or aquatic systems from the “small volume” of treated process water. Teck has not yet responded to questions about the cause of the spill or what contaminates the process water might contain, but said “treated processed water that entered the creek had lower metal concentrations than Red Dog Creek’s natural metal concentrations.”
The company says cleanup work is underway.
