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EPA: Contaminants near pre-spill levels

Agency says it validated river samples collected in mid-August
Visitors to the beach behind Durango High School stir up sediment from the Gold King Mine spill on Saturday on the Animas River. Environmental Protection Agency officials on Sunday said contaminated water levels in the Animas are trending toward pre-spill conditions.

Less than three weeks after 3 million gallons of contaminated mine runoff surged down the Animas River, Environmental Protection Agency officials said metal concentrations in surface water are trending toward pre-event conditions.

The EPA said it validated river samples from the Animas River and San Juan River in New Mexico collected on Aug. 11 and Aug. 14. Officials believe the samples indicate the rivers are returning to levels before the Aug. 5 spill.

“Based upon the sediment sampling results, sediment sample concentrations are trending toward pre-event conditions,” the EPA said Sunday in a news release.

The EPA, the agency responsible for accidentally releasing the heavy-metal contaminated water, said it also compared levels for exposure during recreational use to determine if metals in the water are on par with pre-spill levels.

But some say there is far more concern and uncertainty when it comes to the mineral-rich orange sediment that settled on the banks and Animas riverbed.

The sediment, which contains elevated levels of lead and arsenic, poses a potential health risk in both the short- and long-term.

“That’s where the real risk lies in the river,” Danny Teitelbaum, a Colorado School of Mines professor and toxicologist, said in a previous interview with The Durango Herald. “That’s persistent material that can get into the fish, plants and even the water supply. ... The big risks are birth defects and neurological effects on children, whose nervous systems are developing.”

At Iris Park on Monday, news of the EPA’s latest update did little to assure Durango residents of the river’s safety.

“I am still skeptical of the river,” said Christine Siodla, who has lived in Durango for about 13 years. “I would feel comfortable boating, but I would never, myself, feel comfortable swimming just yet. The sediment is still on the bottom, even though we can’t see it.”

As small groups of kayakers and inner-tubers passed by, Barb Garlick, a 38-year resident of Durango, said the EPA has done the best it can under the circumstances, but it’s still too early to really know the impacts of the spill.

“I’m not letting my dog play in it,” she said. “He used to play in the river almost every day, but I don’t want him to stir up the sediment that’s settled. We really miss it.”

As of Monday afternoon, EPA spokeswoman Jennah Durant said the mine is releasing water at a rate of approximately 559 gallons per minute. Durant said that water is captured and treated before being discharged into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas.

jromeo@durangoherald.com



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