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WEST JORDAN — A big winter storm and the resulting runoff is the likely culprit for arsenic contamination in West Jordan.
Rio Tinto Kennecott has taken the blame, saying the arsenic runoff came from its old Barney's Canyon Gold Mine, which is in the process of being shut down. Rio Tinto is preparing to remove the soil from about 1,000 feet away from the Sycamores subdivision, near 8000 South and Highway 111.
West Jordan water department engineers tested for groundwater contamination. “While leaching is always a possibility, we could find no evidence that our drinking water supply was in any danger from the arsenic concentrations,” City Manager Rick Davis said.
Rio Tinto has fenced off the hazardous section, but neighbors can expect up to eight weeks of noise when tractors and backhoes start removing the bad soil this summer.
That process will start when the state approves the plan.
"We could find no evidence that our drinking water supply was in any danger from the arsenic concentrations.” -Rick Davis
“We have committed to the nearby residents to reduce any impacts as much as possible,” Rio Tinto spokesman Kyle Bennett said. “We’ve had a very open line of communication with them through letters, personal visits and social media.”
Bennett says arsenic is a natural element that came from the refining of gold and other metals at the mine. Neither Rio Tinto nor West Jordan City have reported any complaints or sicknesses from residents.
Davis said Rio Tinto has been forthright over the last two months, when the company’s engineers told the city of the problem.
Davis added that the contaminated area is uninhabited, although joggers and walkers frequent it occasionally.
Bennett would not disclose Rio Tinto's cost for removing the soil.
