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The unlined tailings piles overlie the San Mateo alluvial aquifer, into which radioactive and non-radioactive contaminants have migrated. Seepage from the piles now has reached portions of the Upper, Middle and Lower Chinle aquifers.
Kyle was a sick little boy,” Williams said. That’s when they came and tested our water originally.” Test results from the family’s well showed sulfate readings of 727 ppm in 2005 and 842 ppm in 2006.
When U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials came around, “They said they were testing water in the area and they wanted to check the water table,’ she said. “That was the year that all the water came off the mountain and flooded this whole area.”
The Williams’ other three children are a medical mystery. Though there is no family history of genetic malformations, they have had more than their share. And within months of moving to their new home, the children’s conditions appeared to worsen, according to Candi.
Last month, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry declared Homestake a public health hazard.
Sampling in May 2006 identified sixteen well owners who are using their wells for drinking water. One well contained uranium at 265 parts per billion, as opposed to the EPA and New Mexico “safe” standard of 30 ppb.
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