Even though the mustard-yellow hue of the Animas River has started to fade, toxicologists believe there could be health effects for many years to come from the heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, that seeped into the water. According to sampling done by the Environmental Protection Agency on various points along the Animas River Wednesday and Thursday of last week, levels of lead, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium and mercury were way beyond acceptable levels set by the EPA.
Joseph Landolph, a toxicologist at the University of Southern California, found that the lead level in the Animas River was nearly 12,000 times higher than it should be. In response to this revelation all he could say was, "Oh my God! Look at the lead!"
On a lower scale, one of the samples of mercury was nearly 10 times higher than the EPA acceptable levels. Samples of beryllium and cadmium were 33 times higher, and one of the arsenic levels was over 800 times higher.
Exposure to high levels of these metals can cause an array of health problems, ranging from cancer to kidney disase, and can even lead to developmental problems in children.
Scientists note that smaller amounts of metals could be found in water, and that Wednesday's spill caused a spike in these metal concentrations. However, the EPA said that the levels "began to return to pre-event conditions" by Thursday, according to CNN.
Despite their claim, according to EPA's own data, there were still high levels of metals on Thursday. At that time, lead, for example, tested 300 times higher than acceptable levels.
The key problem here, as many scientists point out, is that the toxic levels don't simply disappear.
For example, Max Costa, chair of the department of environmental medicine at New York University School of Medicine, notes that nearby crops are at risk since they readily absorb cadmium.
"Of all the toxic metals, it goes into plants like crazy," he said.
The metals can also be buried within the sediment and be kicked up into the water at anytime. Meaning that even if the spill is "contained", one misstep and nearby residents could unwittingly drink water spiked with heavy metals.
For more on HNGN's coverage on the Animas RIver, click HERE.
