ICBC reports ‘high volume’ of claims after acid spills on B.C. highway

TRAIL, B.C. – A major mining company has apologized after two acid spills earlier this year damaged a large number of vehicles in southeastern British Columbia.

Teck Resources says the two spills of sulphuric acid happened on April 10 and May 23, along a busy commuter route in Trail, after the company sold the acid and it was being moved.

In the first spill, about 220 litres of acid leaked as a truck travelled a 16-kilometre stretch of highway, and in the second, about 70 litres dripped from the truck over six kilometres along the same route.

Teck says both spills were cleaned up, no acid seeped into area waterways and there is no damage to roads or bridges.

But the Insurance Corporation of B.C. says it is dealing with "an extremely high volume of claims" from vehicle owners.

It has set up a dedicated phone line for drivers who may have travelled the road and an adviser who answered the line says the acid has the potential to corrode vehicle undercarriages, especially brake lines and brake systems.

Teck says the spills are unacceptable and the company is "working with the parties involved in acid transportation to prevent any recurrence."