A truck hauls a load at Teck Resources Coal Mountain operation near Sparwood, B.C. in a handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Teck Resources
December 20, 2013 - 2:46 PM
TRAIL, B.C. - A class-action lawsuit has been filed in Washington state against Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) over air and water pollution from the company's lead and zinc smelter in British Columbia.
The lawsuit was filed this week by Barbara Anderson, a resident of Northport, Wash., who claims hazardous material from the smelter in Trail are the cause of her breast cancer and diverticulitis.
The suit filed in Eastern District Court says the smelter is a public nuisance and an "abnormally dangerous activity" because Teck releases hazardous and toxic substances.
It says there are potentially 100 or more people who could be part of the class-action, if it is approved.
The Vancouver-based mining giant admitted last year in another lawsuit brought by the state's Environmental Protection Agency that effluent from the smelter polluted the Columbia River in Washington for more than a century.
The allegations in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013