arizona news
Has been updated: April 13, 2023 9:09 am
(Photo courtesy of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality)
PHOENIX – Orange water and dirt recently discovered at an abandoned mining site in Arizona is not an immediate public health risk, state officials said Wednesday.
According to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, tests have shown that the coloration near the former Sheldon Mine in Yavapai County was caused by naturally occurring iron. Iron forms orange or red iron oxide when exposed to air.
The department collected four surface water samples and three soil samples in the Sheldon mining area. Tests for metals (barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, selenium, silver, iron), arsenic, cyanide, and pH showed nothing exceeding state standards.
As a precaution, people were advised to avoid contact with contaminated liquids and soil.
ADEQ said corrective action is not guaranteed.
The presence of orange liquid and dirt was confirmed on March 30 in the area of Sheldon Road and Midnight Snap Lane near the community of Walkers. Walker is about 10 miles southeast of Prescott in the Bradshaw Mountains.
“Within 24 hours of receiving information from residents about concerns about orange liquid and soil, ADEQ deployed investigators to the site,” Trevor Baggiore, ADEQ’s director of water quality, said in a press release Wednesday. said in
“If you see orange liquid, immediately coordinate with local, county, and state partners to work with Yavapai County Emergency Management to avoid the area while we prepare to conduct environmental sampling. I posted a sign to inform the public.”
