EPA’s heavy metals spill will poison fish and water wells for decades to come
by: David Gutierrez
NaturalNews.com
Wednesday, September 02, 2015
Despite government assurances to the contrary, the heavy metals accidentally released when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) breached a mine tailings dam in Colorado are likely to continue poisoning people and the environment for years or even decades to come, scientists have warned.
On August 5, the EPA was engaged in an effort to stem a leak in a tailings pond from the abandoned Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado. Agency workers accidentally breached the dam holding back the pond, and three million gallons of wastewater poured into the Animas River, turning it temporarily orange.
Slow-acting poisons
The most immediate concern is the risk to local residents, whose tap or well water ultimately comes from the Animas River. Experts are still unsure how much toxic exposure these residents are likely to have. Nevertheless, tests are showing that levels of toxic metals in the river are returning to “pre-event levels.”
However, scientists warn that this could become a problem in and of itself. That’s because the toxic metals are not actually leaving the river; they are simply settling into the sediment at the bottom.
“Remember, this is mine waste, it’s heavy,” toxicologist Dan Teitelbaum said. “It’s going to sink to the bottom of these streams, it’s going to get into the layer at the bottom.”
From there, they are likely to keep affecting local humans and wildlife for the indefinite future.
“The long-term effects are the concern that every time we have some sort of a high-water event, whether a good rain in the mountains or spring runoff next year, that’s going to stir up sediments and remobilize those contaminants that are sitting at the bottom of the river right now,” said Ty Churchwell, Colorado backcountry coordinator for Trout Unlimited.
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