A government environmental agency accidentally dumped millions of liters of toxic substances into a tributary of Colorado, coloring the waters orange as far as New Mexico.
This is called a dumpling. This Wednesday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dumped millions of liters of toxic waste in Colorado waters, causing an oil spill … gold in color.
The facts occurred on August 5, when employees of the institution tried to drain toxic waste from an old abandoned gold mine in order to process it. Except that human error led to the spillage of 11 million liters of a mixture of heavy metals (zinc, iron and copper) and arsenic in the tributary of a Colorado river, the Animas River. .
160 kilometers of pollution
The pollutants spread over 160 kilometers, into the neighboring state of New Mexico, tinting the waters of the river an ocher orange in their path. In the city of Durango, chief town of La Plata County, as well as in several surrounding municipalities, a state of emergency was declared on Sunday.
Kits to test the quality of water from wells were offered to residents. To avoid contamination, farmers had to shut off their irrigation system from the river. Authorities have banned swimming, kayaking and fishing activities. A ban braved by kayaking enthusiasts, who could not help but navigate these copper waters.
What the Colorado waste water spill tells us about mining contamination http://t.co/LbXcakXDit pic.twitter.com/Zk7k9FFnDn
– TIME.com (@TIME) August 11, 2015
No dead fish
Difficult, for the moment, to assess the health impact of such a disaster, according to the authorities who are waiting for the results of water analyzes to lift the bans. But the agency behind the accident noted “frightening” concentrations of chemicals in the river. The challenge lies in the ability to evacuate these substances as quickly as possible.
However, the latest analyzes on the fauna around the river suggest a limited impact. No dead fish were found, according to local authorities.
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