"Independent study confirms low toxicity after Gold King spill"

"DENVER – An independent study of water quality in the Animas River after the Gold King Mine spill shows major human health concerns were short-lived, though slight spikes in pollution might occur with runoff.

Mountain Studies Institute, a nonprofit scientific research organization with an office in Durango, found a spike in metals as the orange plume passed through Durango on Aug. 6. But that spike quickly returned to conditions similar to how the river looked before the incident, according to samples.

“We tried to digitalize the data so that people can ... come to their own conclusions about whether they’re comfortable with those numbers or not,” said Marcie Demmy Bidwell, executive director of the institute."

Peter Marcus reports for the Durango Herald September 3, 2015. [2]