Frequent contact with waste tailings on the Iron Mountain Mine and Mill (IMM) site, the Flat Creek floodplain, and the town of Superior could harm people’s health, says a federal health assessment. Levels of arsenic and lead are of public health concern if residents, particularly children, repeatedly contact areas affected by waste tailings in and around Superior, MT.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) looked into possible health effects from heavy metals in waste tailings from the IMM site in soil, creek water and drinking water. The agency has released its assessment for public comment and is accepting comments through August 14, 2009.

The IMM site formerly was home to mining and milling operations, and left-over waste tailings have contaminated portions of the IMM site and the Flat Creek floodplain. Waste tailings --  materials left over from the mining process after ore has been removed -- were also used in the town of Superior as fill material for roads, driveways, and yards. In 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tested the soil in town and removed some mine tailings used as fill material because of possible short term health risks. This ATSDR assessment looked at the possibility of short and long term health risks from past, current, and future contact with the waste tailings contamination.
Results included:

• Soil: Arsenic and lead levels are currently of public health concern for children and adults who repeatedly contact areas affected by waste tailings on the IMM site and Flat Creek floodplain. However, because the contaminated areas at the IMM site and floodplain area are posted with warning signs, ATSDR would expect the frequency of recreational activities occurring in these areas to be low. 
  
  In town, heavy metals detected in soil at most residential and non residential areas are currently not at levels of health concern. However, four residences tested have lead levels and two of these four residences have arsenic levels that could be problematic for children who play regularly in the soil. The potential also exists for additional properties in town that were not tested to contain waste tailings material.
• Flat Creek: Harmful health effects are not expected for children and adults following skin contact with or drinking small amounts of Flat Creek surface water while wading and fishing. The data suggest that using creek water for drinking, showering, bathing, cooking, and washing dishes is not expected to cause harmful health effects. However, levels of antimony and lead in the creek exceed regulatory guidelines. One family uses a private well and the creek  as a drinking water source. ATSDR recommends efforts to reduce drinking water exposures when chemical levels are above regulatory guidelines. Children who drink one liter or more of Flat Creek water per day could potentially have blood lead levels of concern.
• Drinking water: Chemicals found in water from city wells, Flat Creek Spring, and one private well tested were not at levels of public health concern. However, in the past antimony levels in Flat Creek Spring and the private well exceeded regulatory guidelines. ATSDR did not have enough data to evaluate water from private wells on the north side of town.

ATSDR recommendations include conducting further efforts to minimize exposure to the contamination, such as removing waste tailings deposits on the IMM site and floodplain area, and continuing to post warning signs about arsenic and lead at the mine site and floodplain area. The agency also recommends continued work with the community to determine which areas of town should be studied further.

Interested persons are encouraged to read the public health assessment and make comments during the public comment period. A copy of the public health assessment is located at:

Mineral County Courthouse
300 River Street
Superior, MT 59872
Contact: Tim Read
Phone: 406-822-3526

Or

Mineral County Public Library-Superior
301 2nd Avenue East
Superior, Montana 59872
Contact: Guna Chaberek
Phone: 406-822-3563

Comments on the health assessment must be made in writing. Comments received (without attribution) and ATSDR's responses to these comments will appear in an appendix to the final public health assessment.
 
Mail comments to: Records Center, ATSDR ATTN: Flat Creek IMM Site ATSDR Site, 1600 Clifton Road, N.E. MS F-09 Atlanta, GA 30333

ATSDR staff will be available during an EPA Public Meeting on July 8, 2009. EPA staff will discuss the comment period on the proposed Superfund listing, the EPA community involvement plan, and the upcoming EPA sampling of residential properties this summer. ATSDR staff will discuss the health assessment. Both agencies will be available to answer questions. The EPA Public Meeting is 7– 9:00 pm at the Superior High School, Multi-Purpose Room, 410 Arizona Avenue, Superior, MT.

For more information, community members may contact Dan Strausbaugh at (406) 457-5007.

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