page_title: Obed Mountain coal mine spill
hierarchical_section_title: Obed Mountain coal mine spill
caption_attribution_description: English: Shoreline of the Athabasca River south of Baptist Creek
context_page_description: The Obed Mountain coal mine spill was a mining disaster that occurred on October 31, 2013, when a waste pit at the Obed Mountain Mine failed near the town of Hinton in Alberta, Canada. Following the collapse of a tailings dam, up to one billion liters of wastewater flooded into the nearby Athabasca River – what may be the largest coal slurry spill in Canadian history. The river's waters experienced immediate spikes in arsenic, metals, and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Although the Athabasca was deemed safe for drinking and wildlife by the end of the year, the extent of the environment's recovery remains in doubt.
context_section_description: The Obed Mountain coal mine spill was a mining disaster that occurred on October 31, 2013, when a waste pit at the Obed Mountain Mine failed near the town of Hinton in Alberta, Canada. Following the collapse of a tailings dam, up to one billion liters (260 million US gal) of wastewater flooded into the nearby Athabasca River – what may be the largest coal slurry spill in Canadian history. The river's waters experienced immediate spikes in arsenic, metals, and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Although the Athabasca was deemed safe for drinking and wildlife by the end of the year, the extent of the environment's recovery remains in doubt.
caption: Athabasca River
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