Rusting rivers and huge rainfall have complicated pollution control at Northwest Alaska’s massive zinc mine.

Elevated lead levels were found in drinking water fixtures at Mildred Hall School in Yellowknife, the fourth Yellowknife school to test positive this year. The N.W.T. government will fund alternate drinking water for any territorial school while testing and remediation continue.

The 81-foot tender F/V Pavlof sank Thursday morning while moored in Haines Harbor, prompting an oil-containment response and salvage efforts. Harbor staff, divers, and local vessels worked through low tide to free the vessel and limit contamination.

Gratangen municipality orders a farmer to stop an alleged illegal discharge of manure effluent. The farmer says the releases have ceased, but the municipality disagrees.

Two separate fuel spills occurred at the Kangaatsiaq power plant within a week, releasing an estimated total of up to 27,000 liters into the building, surrounding ground, and the sea. Authorities say the extent of the marine spill is unknown and could not be contained due to wind, waves, darkness, and lack of equipment.

About 4,000 liters of diesel leaked from the grounded landing craft M/S Sørøysund near Fjelldal in Tjeldsund. Emergency crews are pumping fuel off the vessel and have deployed absorbent booms; authorities do not currently fear major impacts to wildlife.

Northwest Territories officials issued a drinking water advisory for Hay River, Enterprise, Kátł’odeeche First Nation and Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation (Kakisa) after elevated trihalomethanes were detected. No illnesses are reported; residents are advised to use filtration, let water sit uncovered, or boil for infant formula, while mitigation and monitoring continue.

Norton Sound Health Corporation issued an air quality alert for Nome after PM10 levels exceeded 301 (hazardous) on Oct. 23. Officials cite recent freeze–thaw cycles and dry conditions for the unusual late-October dust; residents are advised to limit outdoor exposure and use N95 masks.

Maine has issued a do-not-eat advisory for white-tailed deer and wild turkeys in parts of Knox, Thorndike and Unity after tests found elevated PFAS in muscle tissue. The advisory expands earlier restrictions tied to contamination from sludge-applied farm fields.

A reindeer in Nordkapp, Finnmark, was found entangled in trash and was freed by a passerby. The article warns that litter can kill reindeer through exhaustion or starvation.

Residents in Inverness’s Ness Castle estate found asbestos fragments—some partially buried—and are being billed for removal, prompting anger at the developer and factor. Robertson Homes says the site was clean at handover; the factor Ross + Liddell is charging nearly 100 households for testing and cleanup.

About 3.5 million liters of livestock-based biomanure leaked from Havila Biogass in Molde, spreading from a marsh into waterways and a small-boat harbor, causing fish and crab deaths. Norway’s Coastal Administration called it one of the largest such spills they’ve encountered and will order cleanup; the company is conducting remediation and investigating a failed pipe gasket as the likely cause.

A fishing vessel that ran aground near Afognak Island on Monday has leaked an estimated 3,000 to 3,500 gallons into Izhut Bay, according to state officials.

Wildfire smoke drove air quality in Yellowknife to high-risk levels, prompting Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kami Kandola to issue an advisory urging residents to limit outdoor activity and take health precautions. The advisory highlights vulnerable groups and directs people to the Air Quality Health Index for up-to-date information.

Police and fire crews responded Thursday night to a large jet fuel spill at Polar Oil near Nuuk’s harbor. About 7,069 liters leaked but were contained in a spill basin and mostly pumped back; police are investigating the cause.

Environment Canada has issued an air quality advisory for Iqaluit, Kinngait and Kimmirut due to smoke from wildfires in the Prairies, reducing visibility; the smoke is expected to clear Wednesday night.

A fuel tanker crashed Friday off Highway 101, spilling some 3,000 gallons of fossil fuels into Indian Creek. The creek is a tributary of the Elwha River, which has for years been a model for salmon recovery efforts.

A damaged oil pipeline in Nuussuaq near Upernavik spilled around 8,000 liters of diesel into the sea, forcing halibut processing and fish production to pause for two days and severely disrupting local fisheries.

The Alaska Railroad believes between 800 and 1,000 gallons of fuel were spilled, according to a situation report released Monday by the state.

A vessel towing two barges ran aground in the Yenisei River near Kazachinsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai, on June 8, 2025, spilling around 30 metric tons of diesel fuel over a 50-km stretch of shoreline.