The mining-related growth of selenium, nitrate and sulfate concentrations in the Elk River, “are among the largest documented increases in the primary literature,” the researchers write.
The concentrations of selenium and nitrate entering the Elk River and Northwest Montana’s Kootenai watershed as a result of coal-mining operations in British Columbia are likely without measured precedent, according to a new study authored by U.S. Geological Survey scientists.
U.S. Geological Survey researchers say rising levels of nitrate and selenium in Canada’s Elk River are unparalleled in the annals of modern monitoring.The conce