FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2015 file photo, Dan Bender, with the La Plata County Sheriff's Office, takes a water sample from the Animas River near Durango, Colo. after the accidental release of an estimated 3 million gallons of waste from the Gold King Mine. Federal officials fear that at least six of the sites examined by The Associated Press could have blowouts like the one at Gold King. (Jerry McBride/The Durango Herald via AP, File)

DURANGO |  The Environmental Protection Agency says contamination from nearly 50 mining sites in southwestern Colorado doesn’t pose a serious risk for human health.

The Durango Herald reports that the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund site assessment released Thursday didn’t find any risks to people working or hiking, hunting or fishing there. However, it found a risk of exposure to lead or arsenic for children at four camping sites along the Animas River and at three mine sites used as recreational staging areas.

Most of those sites are set to be worked starting this summer.

The agency designated the Superfund site after it inadvertently triggered a spill at the Gold King Mine in August 2015. The spill released 3 million gallons (11.4 million liters) of wastewater, polluting rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

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Information from: Durango Herald, https://www.durangoherald.com

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