Risks

What Are the Risks at the Site?

Historic mining and industrial operations resulted in the deposition of mining, milling, and other wastes across the community of Butte. As a result, groundwater, surface water and soils are contaminated with arsenic and other heavy metals, including copper, zinc, cadmium and lead. 

Potential health threats include direct contact with and ingestion of contaminated soil, surface water, groundwater, or inhaling contaminated soil. 
Remedial Action Objectives (RAOs) include preventing human exposure to contaminated soils, indoor dust, waste rock, surface water, and groundwater that could result in unacceptable risk to human health; preventing releases of contaminated solid media and water; remediating contaminated solid media; preventing the release of contaminated water from solid media that would result in degradation of surface water; returning surface water to a quality that supports its beneficial uses; and preventing further degradation of surface water. 

Ecological risk assessments and human health risk assessments detailing risks across the site are listed below and available in EPA’s records collection.  

Silver Bow Creek / Butte Area Superfund Site Biological Assessment  (pdf) (140pp, 12.8MB)

Annotated Compendium of Butte-Silver Bow Creek Health Assessment Studies (pdf) (3pp, 91.3MB)