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Gold King Mine spill spawns Hazman character

Two men brave polluted river to raise awareness
Nathan Shoutis paddles in the Animas River through heavy-metal mine pollution from the Gold King Mine near Silverton. He took to the river Aug. 7 below Santa Rita Park. The Environmental Protection Agency accidentally released 3 million gallons of polluted water into the river Aug. 5.

It was an image made to capture the seriousness of pollution: A boater wearing a white Tyvek suit, a respirator and green gloves making his way down the orange Animas River.

The Guardian, ABC, Outside Magazine and other major media outlets couldn’t resist running the photographs.

The illustrative images were created by Steve Fassbinder, a Mancos resident, who was inspired to document the pollution from the Gold King Mine outside Silverton when he heard about it on the radio before it reached Durango.

His friend, Nathan Shoutis of Wyoming, agreed to help and paddle down the river in a suit they bought at Home Depot.

Even though the river was closed, Shoutis wasn’t overly worried, and he was careful not to flip his boat or splash contaminated water on himself.

Shoutis didn’t have any expectations for the photos they took.

He recalled thinking: “Wow, there’s this crazy thing happening. We better go out there and take some pictures and kind of document it.”

Afterward, Fassbinder sent the photos to his friends with the Telluride Mountainfilm festival to help get the images in the public eye.

When the river is clear and full of rafters and swimmers, it’s hard to draw attention to ongoing heavy-metal pollution from Silverton, Fassbinder said.

But these photos help show what future recreation could look like if the problem is ignored, Shoutis said.

“Maybe in some hypothetical future it could get that bad,” he said.

To help protect the river in the long term, Fassbinder would like to see a Silverton Superfund designation be considered.

“The past campaigns have been successful; I don’t see why it couldn’t be successful in Silverton, as well,” Fassbinder said.

As for the character in the Tyvek suit, Fassbinder said he might be making more appearances to shine the light on pollution, as Hazman.

mshinn@durangoherald.com

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