Almost 125 years ago, the opening of the old Germania Smelter meant jobs and prosperity for Murray. Today, almost 50 years after smelting operations ceased, area residents are faced with a legacy of severe pollution from lead and arsenic contaminants.
An August federal Environmental Protection Agency risk assessment of the smelter site and its immediate environs raises serious concerns about cancer and other health risks for area residents and workers.In particular, the study revealed that soil samples from:
- Two of 19 zones in the survey area showed a higher than acceptable risk for residents to contract cancer from arsenic contaminants in the soil.
- All zones within the boundaries of the smelter site showed a higher than allowable cancer or health risk to some types of workers because of arsenic and lead contaminants in the soil.
- All but three of the 19 study zones - including land occupied by Murray High School - showed higher than acceptable lead amounts for children.
EPA project manager Bonnie La-velle said future studies might change some aspects of the assessment, but not the overall view of the smelter site, which is located south of Little Cottonwood Creek, north of 5300 South Street and west of State Street. The western boundary of the 141-acre site lies just west of the Denver & Rio Grande and Union Pacific rail lines in the area.
"While we identified broad areas of concern, that may change as we get more details," Lavelle said. "Our conclusions may change - these results will not. Our conclusions about potential risks may change in the future as we get more data, or as we look more closely at existing data."
The EPA and city and state officials began meetings with local leaders, area residents and property owners at Murray City Hall on Tuesday to discuss the study.
Lead and silver ores were processed at the smelter, but lead, arsenic and other pollutants left over from manufacturing spread to areas near the smelter. Pollutants also made their way into the groundwater and are still present in the many slag piles throughout the site.
According to the survey, arsenic can cause a variety of ailments in humans. High doses of the metal cause acute irritation of the gastrointestinal tract. Lower levels cause weakness and nausea and can eventually lead to kidney and liver damage and impaired nerve function.
Various studies have linked arsenic with lung and skin cancer. Some studies show a link between chronic oral arsenic intake and liver, bladder, lung, gastrointestinal, renal and bladder cancers.
Symptoms of arsenic poisoning include dark and white spots and small corns on the palms and soles of the feet and hands, and a "pins and needles" sensation in the extremities.
The EPA risk assessment showed a cancer risk for residents from arsenic soil contaminants in an area to the west of Grandview Trailer Park and in zone "ISZ-8," an area immediately west of the smelter site, north of 5300 South Street, east of Commerce Street and south of Vine Street. The risk in those areas was greatest for those directly exposed to arsenic for long periods of time.
For workers on the site itself, the risk from arsenic exposure increases dramatically if the employee has direct contact with the soil for extended periods of time. Factories at the site include Monroc Asphalt; Buehner, Metrowest and Ashgrove cement companies; and W.R. White Co.
The effects of lead contaminants in the soil are couched in the study mainly in terms of the risk to children and fetuses. Lead affects nervous system development in chil-dren and can lead to intelligence deficits and attention span and hand-eye coordination problems.
Soil samples collected in the area show that lead levels are higher than acceptable for children in all zones of the survey area except for locations in the south. Areas above allowable lead limits include the zone encompassing Murray High School - but not Hillcrest Junior High School - and areas north of American Avenue and west of State Street.
For workers in constant contact with the soil, the chances of ingesting lead contaminants in amounts above acceptable limits are high throughout the area of the old smelter site.
Two other issues addressed in the assessment included water contamination and on-site slag. As reported in earlier surveys, water contamination is apparently confined to the shallow and intermediate aquifers at the site and therefore doesn't affect drinking water in the deep aquifer at present.
Because groundwater in the shallow aquifer at the site is moving north, one future concern is the leaching of arsenic and lead into Little Cottonwood Creek. Of 30 shallow wells sampled during the survey, lead - which doesn't move freely through wet soil - was low in most wells, but arsenic content was high in many others.
The concentration of both lead and arsenic in soil and water varied dramatically from site to site and from different areas of the same site. LaVelle said this was due in part to the manner in which soil had been moved around by various site occupants in construction and leveling land. Off-site variability of pollutants appeared to be more consistent.
Slag left over from the smelting process is a danger to children in the area, especially if the children play with slag or ingest slag particles.