Texas Researcher Finds Heavy Metals Around River After Mine Spill
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COLORADO (CBSDFW.COM ) - Researchers from Texas say they found accumulations of heavy metals from the Gold King Mine spill around the riverbank in Colorado and New Mexico.
David Weindorf of Texas Tech University and Kevin Lombard of New Mexico State University say they found patches of discolored sludge containing elevated levels of iron, copper, zinc, arsenic and lead along the river.
Weindorf says the concentrations of metals in the sludge were higher than at other sites they tested on the banks and on nearby irrigated and non-irrigated land.
On August 5, a cleanup crew supervised by the Environmental Protection Agency accidentally breached a debris ban and caused 3 million gallons of wastewater to rush out of the mine.
Researchers said any potential threat to crops and livestock should be studied further.
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