Dam Spills 9 Million Gallons of Sodium Cyanide

JEFFERSON, S.C. —  About 9 million gallons of potentially hazardous sodium cyanide spilled Sunday from a reservoir into a nearby creek when a dam broke, authorities said.

The spill posed little threat to drinking supplies, but officials warned residents to keep animals from tainted water.

The substance, a poisonous chemical when undiluted, spilled from a reservoir at Brewer Gold Co. when a dam broke, said Richard Carnes, emergency preparedness director in Chesterfield County.

Heavy rain might have weakened the dam along the reservoir. Sodium cyanide spilled into Little Fork Creek, about 2,000 feet from the reservoir. The creek flows into Lynches River, about two miles from the spill.

The company uses the chemical to separate gold from ore.

Georgetown, about 110 miles southeast of Jefferson, is the nearest municipality to draw drinking water from the lake system.

“We really feel like by the time it gets that far it will be hard to even detect,” said Thom Berry, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The reservoir held 13 million to 14 million gallons of sodium cyanide, Berry said. He said leaking continued late Sunday.

Results of water quality tests would not be available until today.

Consumption of undiluted sodium cyanide can be fatal, but it is significantly weakened when mixed with water, Berry said.