ANIMAS RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL

CONTAMINATION FROM THE DURANGO MILL

Over 100 Years of River Pollution

Norman R. Norvelle, BS, MNS, & Registered Sanitarian

Abstract

• Animas River was contaminated by Durango Mill Site from 1880 to 1990

• The processing of Lead/Silver/Gold was from 1881 to 1930

• The processing of Uranium/Vanadium was from 1942 to 1963

• Public Health concern of river contamination and sampling was from 1955 to 1962

• Radium contamination was most significant contaminant

• The Durango Mill Site closure occurred in 1963

• Superfund Cleanup of Durango Mill Site was from 1986 to 1991

• History & documentation is Important due to damage to people & environment

Introduction

• My family followed O&G boom to Farmington in 1958

• We loved the outdoors and mountains and drove though Durango often

• I remember the old Durango Smelter stack and sawmill scrap lumber fire tepee

• My 9th Grade general science teacher had a disc of uranium metal

• My 11th Grade chemistry teacher took us on a tour to the uranium mills in Durango and Shiprock to see how uranium was processed into yellow cake

• I graduated from college in 1970 and started career as scientist with NMDPH

• My cleanup of Atomic Energy Commission Field Monitoring Lab in Farmington, especially the lead bricks and gallon jars of animal organs was interesting

Weidman Sawmill – Durango, Colorado – 1957 (East Bank of Animas River)

EPA & Public Health Regulations History

• 1872 – General Mining Act

• 1954 – Atomic Energy Act

• 1970 – Formation of EPA by Executive Order

• 1970 – Formation of OSHA by Congress

• 1970 – Clean Air Act

• 1972 – Federal Water Pollution Control Act, a.k.a. Clean Water Act

• 1972 – Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), a.k.a. Superfund

• 1974 – Safe Drinking Water Act

• 1976 – Resource Conservation and Recovery ACT (RCRA), a.k.a. Cradle to Grave

• 1977 – Clean Water Act of 1977 (Toxics)

• 1978 – Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act

• 2000 – Final Radionuclide’s Rule

• 2007 – Groundwater Rule of 2007

General Mining Act exempted people companies from all regulations & cleanup

A Primer on Radioactivity

• Radioactivity is decay of an atom with the emission of radiation

• Radiation is the release of radiant energy emitted in the form of waves or particles

• Alpha Radiation Particles, Beta Radiation Particles, and Gamma EM Waves (X-ray)

• The decay products of an atom are called a daughter or isotope or nuclide

• Two types of radioactive materials: NORM and manmade (nuclear bomb testing)

• Both types are Alpha and/or Beta radiation emitters

• Danger is from ingestion or inhalation and this is very damaging inside the body

• Shielding: Alpha-Paper, Beta-1/8 inch aluminum, Gamma-4” lead or 2’ Concrete

• Uranium is an radioactive element giving off radiation during process of decay

Radioactive Decay of Radioactive Uranium 238 to Stable Lead 206.

Lead on the Periodic Table of Elements is Lead 207 Atomic Weight

At each decay step either alpha or beta radiation is emitted.

Regulations for Drinking Water

• National Primary Drinking Water Standards were developed in 1974

• Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) are limits set to protect public health

• There were 5 types of standards• Inorganic Chemical contaminants

• Organic Chemical contaminants

• Turbidity (particles suspended in water – cloudiness)

• Microbial contaminants

• Radioactive contaminants

Radioactive contaminants include both natural (NORM)and manmade. NORM contaminants in water usually include uranium, radium, and radon (gas). The next slide is the current monitoring procedures and regulatory limits for drinking water.

EPA National Primary Drinking Water Standards

Inorganics (Metals) MCL

Antimony 0.006 mg/L

Arsenic 0.01 mg/L

Barium 2.0 mg/L

Cadmium 0.005 mg/L

Chromium 0.1 mg/L

Copper 1.3 mg/L

Cyanide (exception – not a metal) 0.2 mg/L

Lead 0.015 mg/L

Mercury 0.002 mg/L

Selenium 0.05 mg/L

Thallium 0.002 mg/L

Uranium 0.030 mg/L

Routine Monitoring Procedures

1. Test for gross alpha activity; if gross alpha exceeds 5 pCi/L then

2. Test for radium 226; if radium 226 exceeds 3 pCi/L, then

3. Test for radium 228.

4. The MCL for gross beta particle activity is 4 mrem/yr. (Surface water

systems).

Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for Radioactivity

Constituent (Radionuclide’s) MCLs

Combined Radium 226 and Radium 228 5 pCi/L (picocurie per Liter)

Gross Alpha Activity (including Radium

226 but excluding Radon and Uranium

15 pCi/L (a measure of

radioactivity

Beta/Photon Emitters 4 mrem/yr.

Uranium 30 µg/L or 0.030 mg/L

Other Information

• Monitoring for natural radioactivity is required every 4 years – Surface & Ground Water

• Picocurie (pCi/L) is the quantity (unit of measure) of radioactive atoms decaying at a rate of 3.7 X 10-2 disintegrations per second (dps)

• Roentgen Equivalent Man (rem) is a unit of measure as a biological dose for radiation exposure to a man. Relates to human biological damage measured as a rad (Radiation Absorbed Dose)

• Rad is the measure of energy absorbed in any materials due to radiation exposure

• Millirem or mrem/yr. is 1/1000th of a rem

Standard Methods for the Examination of Water & Wastewater – 9th Ed. (1946) 286 Pages, 14th Ed. (1976) 1192 Pages

Durango Mill Site History• Located in Durango on west bank of Animas River and immediately southwest of

the intersection of U.S. Highways 160 and 550. The site had everything:• Lightener Creek was used as the water supply for the site

• Animas River was used as the sanitary sewer and dump for liquid acid wastewater disposal

• Onsite coal supply and nearby coal supply for the furnace operation and producing coke

• Railroad for hauling and transporting supplies

• Electric power supplied from the City (or local power)

• Nearby limestone quarry for fluxing agent

• Nearby land storage for ore and tailings storage

• Nearby canyon for tailings dump

• Copper processing site ½ mile downstream and adjacent to property

• There were two general operational periods: Silverton Metal Ores and Carnotite Ores

Silverton Metal Ores Period (1880-1930)

• 1880 – Smelter was Built

• 1880 – City of Durango was formed

• 1881 – Lead and silver processing mill and smelter are now operational

• 1881 – First railroad line from Denver to Durango was finished

• 1882 – First railroad line from Durango to Silverton was finished

• 1899 – ASARCO (American Smelting and Refining Company) acquired site & mill

• 1915 – First train hauling zinc from Silverton area to Durango started

• 1930 – The Smelter Mill closes operation

Silverton Metal Ores

• Silverton mining area is an old volcanic caldera (large crater) and it has

• Polymetallic igneous ores : gold, silver, lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, and others.

• Others in lesser quantities are: boron, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, radium, selenium, silver, strontium, thallium, thorium, uranium, and vanadium

• The EPA National Primary Drinking Water Standards: antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, selenium, thallium and uranium

• These were released into the environment by discharge into river and stack gases

• I estimate discharges of metals into the river were from 500 mg/L to 15,000 mg/L

1884 Durango Lead-Silver Smelter

1892 Durango Lead/Silver Smelter

1906 Durango Smelter – Serious Air Pollution

1929 Durango Smelter

Uravan Carnotite Ores• Carnotite is an uranium and vanadium ore containing small amounts of radium

• Carnotite ores were from the Uravan Mineral Belt in Southwestern Colorado

• Counties were San Miguel, Montrose and Mesa, Colorado and Grand County, Utah

• Uravan carnotite ores contained an average of 0.29% uranium oxide and 1.60% vanadium oxide, which is a very good ore.

• 99% of ore remains in the tailings after vanadium and uranium are removed

• 85% of original radioactivity remains in mill tailings after processing

• Carnotite was not known to contain radium until later mill operations

• The Uravan Mineral Belt supplied about half of the world’s radium from 1910-1922

• Ore was originally mined for vanadium, then radium, and finally uranium

1942 Durango Vanadium Smelter

Uravan Carnotite Ores Period (1942-1963)

• 1931 to 1941 – Durango Mill inactive, but still contaminating Animas River (runoff)

• 1942 to 1946 – Purchased by RFC (Feds) and sold to and contracted USV. Vanadium was produced, but real interest was uranium for secret project

• 1943 – Uranium recovery started secretly for Manhattan Project and Los Alamos

• 1948 – U.S. AEC bought mill from USV and leased to Vanadium Corp. of America

• 1953 – VCA bought mill & site from USAEC and started yellow cake production

• 1955 – Dr. George Moore from San Juan Basin Health Dept. started investigation of complaint. Dr. found dumping of tailings and process water into Animas River and contacted USPHS in Washington, D.C. for national attention (Free Road Base)

Uravan Carnotite Ore Period - Continued

• 1958 to 1959 - U.S. PHS began an intensive survey of river pollution and found high levels of dissolved radium (1.9 times drinking water level) in river. Conventional drinking water treatment plants (Aztec & Farmington) could not remove radium. “Survey of Interstate Pollution of the Animas River” still claimed mill was for vanadium processing, not uranium

• 1959 – VCA increased mill capacity and river (2 miles below discharge) was 4.6 X Diss. Ra

• 1963 – Attempts to remove dissolved radium not successful and mill was closed and moved to Shiprock, New Mexico.

• 1986 – Superfund cleanup was started (more than ½ billion dollars and Shiprock ditto)

• 1991 – Superfund cleanup was finished. Mill tailings and other waste were transported to Bodo Canyon Cell. Mine tailing emit radon gas. Radon is a radioactive gas formed by radioactive decay of radium

• 2010 – The Durango Telegraph reports a federal government finding that the Cell and other mediated areas may be leaking and possibly contaminating river

Basic Uranium Ore Processing

• Crushing of ore (100%)

• Grinding of ore (100%)

• Solution leaching of ore (99% waste mill tailings and 1% for uranium recovery)

• 99% waste mill tailing to disposal, but still containing 85% of radioactivity

• 1% uranium recovery solution

• Average of 340 gallons per minute or 490 million gallons per day discharge to river (1959)

• Real danger was from radium and the radon gas that was emitted from radium

• Flush Twice – It’s a long way to Farmington (urinal sign and 3.2 beer)

Chemicals Used in Uranium Processing and Yellow Cake production (per day) - 1959

Chemicals Used in Uranium Mill Process - 1959

Ammonium Sulfate 1640 Lbs/day

Sodium Hydroxide 600 Lbs/day

Sodium Chloride 25,800 Lbs/day

Soda Ash (Bulk) 46,200 Lbs/day

Soda Ash (Dense) 1,200 Lbs/day

Sodium Chlorate 450 Lbs/day

Sodium Peroxide 19 Lbs/day

Sulfuric Acid 83,900 Lbs/day

Potassium Permanganate 120 Lbs/day

Kerosene (liquid ion exchange) 260 Gallons/day

Other (extractants) 29 Gallons/day

Radon-222 Gas

• Radon gas is a colorless, inert radioactive gas formed by radioactive decay

• Usually emitted by radioactive decay from uranium, thorium, and radium

• When ore is mined, radon escapes into the air, also from ore and tailing piles

• Radon is an alpha-emitting radioactive gas and causes lung cancer

• Radium is similar to calcium and is concentrated in the bones and teeth of animals

• Resulting damages are leukemia and bone cancer, especially in children

• Dentists collected teeth many years in Aztec and Farmington

• Lapel Button – “I GAVE A TOOTH FOR RESEARCH”

• 1950 – A brief survey was performed by U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS)

• 1955 – A second brief, but more detailed survey was performed by USPHS

• 1958 – Detailed “Survey of Interstate Pollution of the Animas River (CO-NM) I”

• 1959 – Detailed “Survey of Interstate Pollution of the Animas River (CO-NM) II”

• 1959 – Publication of “Control or Radioactive Pollution of Animas River”

• 1960 – Publication of “Survey of Interstate Pollution of the Animas River-Part I&II”. Report claimed that the mill site was for vanadium and not uranium (top secret)

• 1960 – Publication of “Estimating Human Radiation Exposure on the Animas River”

• 1963 – Publication of “Research for the Control of Radioactive Pollutants”

Animas River Surveys for Radioactivity and Reports on Surveys

Control of Radioactive Pollution of the Animas River - 1959• Uranium is the parent of a long series of radioactive isotopes found in nature

• Daughters (isotopes) are thorium, polonium, radium, radon, bismuth, and lead

• However, only uranium is extracted in the formation of yellow cake

• Yellow cake is a dried product of the process containing 80 to 90 % uranium oxide

• Waste generated is dumped into the river (liquids) or next to the river (tailings pile)

• 1950 & 1955 survey had a dissolved radium (DS) of 0.2 pCi/L upstream of the mill

• 1955 had 2 different mill effluent streams which were 76 and 25 pCi/L Dissolved Ra

• The gross alpha activity of the main effluent suspended solids was 33,200 pCi/L

(Continued)• 1959 Survey was conducted 3 miles upstream and almost 60 miles downstream

• Survey was comprehensive, specimens screened and/or prepped at AEC Field Lab in Farmington and sent on to the Salt Lake City or Cincinnati main laboratories

• Two miles downstream of mill the average river water radioactivity's were gross alpha – 120 pCi/L, gross beta 170 pCi/L, and dissolved radium were 12.6 pCi/L.

• River muds (sediment) were gross alpha 1,250 pCi/L, gross beta – 1,350 pCi/L, total radium of 171 pCi/L.

• Algae radioactivity’s were gross alpha – 3,900 pCi/L, gross beta – 5,760 pCi/L, and total radium of 880 pCi/L

• Aquatic insect radioactivity’s were gross alpha – 1,820 pCi/L, gross beta – 4,110 pCi/L, total radium – 71 pCi/L

• NEEDLESS TO SAY, THERE WERE NO FISH AVAILABLE FOR SAMPLING

Estimating Human Radiation Exposure on the Animas River - 1960• Radium ingestion was the main concern as radium is absorbed like calcium into

bones and teeth, especially for the young.

• Radium was found in dairy products (Aztec Dairies), food and water

• Radium emitted alpha particles which led to leukemia and bone cancer

• The Durango Mill increase in capacity in 1959 increased dissolved radium from 12.5 pCi/L to 24 pCi/L two miles downstream. MCL was 3.3 then and 5.0 today.

• Report found that conventional drinking water treatment plants (Aztec and Farmington) did not removed dissolved radium

• Report was basically the KISS OF DEATH FOR THE DURANGO MILL

Research for the Control of Radioactive Pollutants - 1963• Followed earlier report “Radium Removal From Uranium Mill Wastewater-1962”

• 1963 research report gave detailed findings on the 1959 Survey of surface water, well water, milk, vegetation, etc., but no results for the findings of animal or human ( i.e., bones, teeth, organs, and other tissues) information or data

• Both the 1962 and 1963 reports provided research information for radium removal from the wastewater dumped into the Animas River

• The Durango Mill did many of their suggestions, but failed to get the results

• The discharge of 490 million gallons a day was a given and could not be avoided

• HENCE, IN 1963 THE DURANGO MILL WAS SHUT DOWN FOREVER, BUT THE OPERATION WAS MOVED TO THE NAVAJO RESERVATION, SHIPROCK, N.M.

Conclusion

• The Durango Mill site polluted and contaminated the Animas River over 100 years.

• The substances consisted of many toxic heavy metals, radioactive materials, plant process tailings and wastewater process solutions

• However, the most damaging was both dissolved and suspended radium

• Almost all of the contamination and associated problems ended with the Superfund Cleanup in 1991, but monitoring of the cleanup is a must.

• The purpose of this presentation was to document the history and provide the references of the documentation. I have copies of this presentation available.

• Our greatest concern now should be the cleanup of the numerous abandoned mines in the Animas River Watershed to protect the environment and future generations.

Additional Information and Raw Data is available from the “Survey of Interstate Pollution of the Animas River (Colorado-New Mexico) Part I (1958) and Part II (1959)”, 1960

• “The Animas River report (mentioned above) was rather voluminous, and its distribution was limited. A total of 300 copies were distributed to various federal, state, and local agencies and to individuals requesting them”.

• A copy of the complete report may be available at the Fort Lewis College Center of Southwest Studies, but I could not find this report on their website.

• A complete copy of these reports should be obtained and given to Fort Lewis College, San Juan College, University of NM, NM Tech, and NMSU (WRRI).