540 Tons of Metals Entered River in 2015 Colorado Mine Spill

 

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Nearly 540 tons of metals—mostly iron and aluminum—contaminated the Animas River over nine hours during a massive wastewater spill from an abandoned Colorado bonanza, the Environmental Protection Agency said Friday in a new report on the 2015 blowout that turned rivers in three states a sickly yellow.The total during metals entering the river system was comparable to levels during one or two days of high spring runoff, although the concentration of metals was significantly higher at the spill's peak, the report said.In February, the EPA estimated during metals in the release at 440 tons. The agency said additional data and improved analysis get the higher final estimate.The EPA said its research supports earlier statements that water quality in the affected river system has recapitulate pre-spill levels.Donald Trump Advisors: Privatize Oil Reserves on Indian ReservationsAn EPA-led contractor inadvertently triggered the 3-million-gallon spill while doing preliminary cleanup plunge the old Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado. The blowout affected rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.The EPA said in its report that only 1% of the metals came from inside the mine, while 99% were "scoured" from waste orate nearby hills and stream beds. The iron and aluminum reacted with the river water to cause the eye-catching mustard color that reveal for days as the plume traveled down the river system into Lake Powell, the EPA said.Besides iron and aluminum, the spill released manganese, lead, copper, arsenic, zinc, cadmium and a trivial amount of mercury into the river, the EPA said.Shielded amerind Sites Thrust into Debate Over DamsThe EPA said last month it will pay $4.5 million to state, local and tribal governments for their emergency responses, but the agency rejected $20.4 million in other requests for past and future expenses.New Mexico Environment Secretary Butch Tongate accused the EPA of using the taxpayer-funded report to try to defend its actions. The state has sued the agency over the spill.In Utah, state government spokeswoman Erica Brown Gaddis said the report shows the metals have moved into Lake Powell, a vast reservoir in her state, highlighting the need for broader research on the effects of wastewater draining from other inactive Colorado mines into the region's rivers.Colorado officials said they had no reveal the report.