Former Xatsull First Nation chief Bev Sellars recalls an emergency meeting after the Mount Polley Mine disaster, where elders were in tears as they thought of fish swimming through the toxic waste that had inundated their territorial waters.

She thinks of the 2014 disaster often.

91裸聊视频淭here are physical changes you can still see,91裸聊视频� Sellars said. 91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 still things happening in the lake.91裸聊视频�

The catastrophic collapse of a tailings dam in the B.C. Interior sent about 25 million cubic metres of poisoned water from the copper and gold mine surging into waterways including Polley and Quesnel lakes on Aug. 4, 2014.

The impact is now filtering though the legal system, with 15 federal Fisheries Act charges laid last week against Imperial Metals Corp. and two other firms.

The environmental impacts are still being felt too, scientists fear, with toxic particles swirling in Quesnel Lake91裸聊视频檚 water a decade later.

Research also shows tiny invertebrates that form the basis of the aquatic food chain displayed elevated metal accumulation at sites affected by the spill, suggesting material from the disaster was proving potentially toxic to the creatures for years after the initial breach.

Greg Pyle, an aquatic eco-toxicologist and professor emeritus at the University of Lethbridge, was behind that research. He started studying the effects of the disaster on both Polley and Quesnel lakes about four years after it occurred.

91裸聊视频淚 spent my entire career around some of the most contaminated sites in the country and this was one of them,91裸聊视频� Pyle said.

He and his team published their research in 2022, detailing metal accumulation and toxicity in freshwater scuds 91裸聊视频� an insect-like arthropod 91裸聊视频� and mayfly larvae from sediments affected by the spill.

91裸聊视频淭he reason why we were going after these bugs, these invertebrates, is because they sit at the base of the food chain,91裸聊视频� Pyle said. 91裸聊视频淭hey make up a significant portion of smaller fishes91裸聊视频� diet. The small fish comprise the larger fishes91裸聊视频� diet and so on up the food chain.91裸聊视频�

Their study showed elevated toxicity in samples of the creatures collected near the disaster site compared with those from 91裸聊视频渃lean far-field91裸聊视频� sites.

Quesnel Lake, Pyle said, was particularly 91裸聊视频渄ynamic.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a big lake,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭here are places where I would have no problem eating the fish out of there. Would I do it right over where there91裸聊视频檚 been a massive copper mine breach? Probably not.91裸聊视频�

Copper, he said, is known to be a 91裸聊视频減owerful neurotoxicant to fish and other aquatic animals.91裸聊视频�

Pyle said he91裸聊视频檚 still interested to know whether exposure to copper from the spill was damaging the sense of smell for fish.

91裸聊视频淚 was concerned that these animals would have an impaired sense of smell and consequently they91裸聊视频檇 have a difficult time finding food, finding mates, avoiding predators or even migrating,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 one of the things that we never had an opportunity to test.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淲e don91裸聊视频檛 know whether or not that happened,91裸聊视频� he said.

Ellen Petticrew, a geography professor at the University of Northern British Columbia, said that after the disaster, researchers quickly began looking into the effect on Quesnel Lake, 91裸聊视频渢he deepest fiord lake in the world.91裸聊视频�

She and colleague Phil Owens, an environmental science professor, were able to quickly access areas near the disaster because the university had a research station set up nearby.

Fine particles of sediment contaminated with copper and other metals, 91裸聊视频渟tayed in suspension for months and then it slowly sort of rained down to the bottom of the lake,91裸聊视频� Owens said.

But the lake91裸聊视频檚 waters turn over twice a year, stirring up contaminated sediment that gets suspended again, which runs 91裸聊视频渃ounter91裸聊视频� to what the mining company and consultants believed at the time.

91裸聊视频淭hey thought that the tailings would just stay at the bottom of the lake and be immobile, but actually that has not proven to be true, and we still detect that 10 years later,91裸聊视频� Owens said.

Petticrew said the lake91裸聊视频檚 waters swish like 91裸聊视频渞ocking in a bathtub,91裸聊视频� and their research focused on the movement of contaminated material 91裸聊视频渦p into the food web to the point of the fish food, but not to the fish itself.91裸聊视频�

She said the mining company has studied toxicity in fish tissues, but the research made available online hasn91裸聊视频檛 been easy to access and assess.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e looked generally to try to find it,91裸聊视频� Petticrew said. 91裸聊视频淭heir website feels like it91裸聊视频檚 meant to confuse you and make it problematic. It91裸聊视频檚 not like it91裸聊视频檚 very straightforward to get access to the stuff that they say is fully available.91裸聊视频�

Imperial Metals said in a written statement that because it91裸聊视频檚 been served with the Fisheries Act indictment, it wouldn91裸聊视频檛 be commenting further on the charges.

Petticrew said the trouble with pinning down toxic effects in fish isn91裸聊视频檛 easy.

91裸聊视频淪o much of what happens to salmon is unexplained, whether it91裸聊视频檚 in the ocean, whether it91裸聊视频檚 on the route up because of temperature, whether it91裸聊视频檚 because of a Big Bar blocking the way, whether it91裸聊视频檚 because of contaminants in the water column,91裸聊视频� she said, referring to the Big Bar landslide in 2019 in the Fraser River that created a large waterfall that trapped the fish.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 so many different variables that affect the return of salmon that nobody91裸聊视频檚 been able to pin anything on this.91裸聊视频�

Fishing in Quesnel Lake is still robust, and the Mount Polley mine disaster now 91裸聊视频渟eems to be a far distant memory,91裸聊视频� said Marita Boxrud, owner of the Plato Island Resort, located far upstream from the tailings breach.

91裸聊视频淔ishing has been good. Lots of lake trout and rainbow trout have been caught and released,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚t was an unfortunate accident, but we think that the company did a fantastic job cleaning up and supporting the community.91裸聊视频�

Craig Orr, a conservation adviser with the Watershed Watch Salmon Society and an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Environment at Simon Fraser University, said he was unaware of the most current information about Mount Polley91裸聊视频檚 long-term effects on waterways.

Orr said the Quesnel river system is crucial to salmon runs through to the Fraser River, into which it flows, and he was more involved in assessing the disaster91裸聊视频檚 short term impacts as the society91裸聊视频檚 executive director at the time.

91裸聊视频淲e just have to look at the state of Fraser sockeye. Every impact is something that we try to avoid right now,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e had some of the worst returns on record this past year for Fraser River sockeye.91裸聊视频�

He said wild salmon runs are affected by industrial activities, including forestry and salmon farming, and the poor returns in the Fraser have been compared to a 91裸聊视频渄eath of a thousand cuts.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭he Mount Polley mine breach was more than a cut,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚t was a hammer blow to Quesnel sockeye.91裸聊视频�

Two weeks after the disaster, the B.C. government announced a partnership with both the Williams Lake and Xatsull First Nations.

The statement announcing the partnership quoted then-chief Sellars saying the deal would allow 91裸聊视频淔irst Nations and the provincial government to begin a necessary conversation about the adequacy of existing laws, regulations and policy in regards to the overall mining sector in British Columbia.91裸聊视频�

Ten years later, Sellars said the provincial government still treats the mining industry with deference, handing out permits to individual projects 91裸聊视频渨ithout looking at the cumulative effects.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚n order to sustain a healthy economy, we need a healthy environment,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淥therwise it91裸聊视频檚 all gonna catch up to everybody one day.91裸聊视频�