Rio Tinto will be fined $500,000 after pleading guilty to violating the Fisheries Act.
This condemnation follows the release of a pollutant that occurred on September 17, 2019 following a boiler failure at Rio Tinto’s Arvida factory in Saguenay.
“Irrigation was carried out to cool the equipment for repairs. The irrigation water flowed into a drainage network that flows into the Saguenay River. “Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. has taken action to stop this flow,” Environment and Climate Change Canada said in a news release.
However, 351.3 m3 of water with a pH between 4.6 and 5.5 (acidic) ended up in the waters of the Saguenay River, where fish live.
Rio Tinto was convicted by the Quebec court on September 25.
The fine will be paid into the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund. The conviction results in the company’s name being added to the register of polluters.