Toxics in Silver County Leaves Environmentalists, Residents Feeling Sick

SILVER CLIFF- The State EPA reports that the county is home to multiple sites of soil, water, and air contamination. After years of rampant pollution from the mining industry, the county is facing a million-dollar tab to clean up the cities of Vermillion and Silver Cliff. Residents are up in arms about the news for a number of reasons.

As taxpayers, they are upset that the companies or individuals who polluted the land in the first place are not being held accountable for the mess. As residents of the region, they are growing increasingly alarmed at the toxicity of the soil, water, and air that they are living with.

They are are also seeking answers to the difficult questions about the potential for adverse health impacts brought about by the pollution. Though they do not have the cold, hard facts or statistics, many long-term residents like Carla Cordero, a Chicana activist and Silver Cliff citizen, feel that they know the impact the toxics are having. "All you have to do," says Cordero, "is look at the rise in birth defects and the rates of cancer for the region to see that something is terribly wrong."

Cordero states that the effects of toxic contamination are especially hard on the minority community. "Because the minority populations live disproportionately in areas that are the most toxic, we face the most health issues. Ironically, we are the least equipped to pay for the damages that these toxins produce, and also live in the areas that are last on the list to clean up," Cordero argues strongly.

Environmentalists are also up in arms about the effects of the toxins on natural ecosystems and wildlife. Abigail Fisher, lead community organizer for Silver Area Network for the Environment, or SANE, argues, "These toxins are already having severe effects on the environment. Elk and deer populations have dwindled to near nothing, and several native species of fish are turning belly-up in area streams, lakes, and ponds."

Members of Silver Trails, a local recreational committee, also question the safety of swimming in -- or taking fish from -- the polluted water sources. Despite their claims of "foul play" by local administrators, an unnamed source reporting from the Environmental Protection Authority claims that all water sources in the region test well under federal standards for pollutants.