Newmont Mining Corp., the world’s second-biggest gold producer, was ordered to clean up lead-contaminated soil at a California summer camp.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told the Denver-based company last month to remove the toxic metal from the Donner Mine Camp, site of the abandoned Zeibright gold mine near the Bear River in Nevada County, the agency said Friday.
Children were exposed to the lead at low levels, making it unlikely they would be at risk for health problems, said Chris Reiner, a civil investigator with the EPA. Lead can cause brain damage in children, according to the agency’s website.
“We were concerned because our standards are based on people living in an area,” Reiner said. Lead has a “tremendous impact” on kids, he said, so the agency told Newmont and the camp operator to bar access to one contaminated building and to make the soil safe enough for a backyard.
Newmont cooperated fully with the order, Reiner said.
Newmont spokeswoman Maureen Upton said the cleanup took three days and cost about $50,000.
Empire Star Mines Co. extracted gold from the site in the early 20th century. The mine shut down in the late 1950s, Reiner said, and was owned by Newmont USA Ltd., a subsidiary of Newmont Mining.
