The concentrations were not yet known.
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The agency affirmed that arsenic at high levels can cause blindness, paralysis and cancer, whereas lead poisoning can create muscle and vision problems for adults. However the company nonetheless was operating checks to see precisely what the sludge contained because it creeps towards communities in northern New Mexico. Walt Baker, Director of Utah Division of Water Quality, says the highly acidic, bright yellow plume likely contains zinc, cadmium, lead, and sulfates, but it’s hard to say yet what kind of an impact there may be in Utah.
Imagine the response of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency if a private company had dumped 1 million gallons of wastewater from an old mine into the Animas River. The EPA and the health department insist there is no threat to local drinking water, however, Colorado residents have been urged to cut back on water usage for the time being and to cease all use of the Animas River until the contaminated water dissipates from the river.
No drinking-water contamination was reported. Potentially impacted water systems have been notified by State officials and precautions are in place to ensure drinking water in homes is protected.
“Gov. Martinez hopes the EPA will be more cooperative and forthcoming moving forward as we work to address this situation and that the EPA will demand the same of itself as it would of a private business responsible for such a spill”, said Chris Sanchez, a spokesman for the governor. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, and Cory Gardner, a Republican, wrote, along with Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, whose district includes the area of the spill.
And it could take months to understand the full impacts, including what happened to insects, whether brown trout are reproducing and what effects metal-laden sediment will have on the riverbed, he said.
“Endangered species downstream of this spill are already afflicted by [the] same toxic compounds like mercury and selenium that may be in this waste”, said CBD’s Taylor McKinnon. Of the 106 testing fish so far only one has died.
Few details have been released about the spill, except that a cleanup crew accidentally breached a containment structure.
The Ute Water Conservancy said that with four water providers in the area, any contaminated water source can be covered by the other agencies.
“We’re very close to the river”, he said.
Though the spill happened on Wednesday, the EPA didn’t tell anyone about it until the next business day.
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New Mexico’s environment secretary said the EPA initially downplayed the danger the contamination posed to public safety and wildlife.
