US EPA

1371584 

Technical Report 

Letter Health Consultation: Livingston Mill and Mine Site, Clayton, Custer County, Idaho 

2008 

NTIS/12560155 

GRA and I 

GRA and I 

The Livingston Mill is an abandoned lead-zinc-silver ore processing facility located in central Idaho near the confluence of Jim Creek and Big Boulder Creek in Custer County. The site is approximately 26 miles southwest of the town of Clayton, Idaho. The mill operated from the late 1800s to the 1950s and produced approximately 86,700 tons of lead-zinc-silver ore. The mill site consists of two mills and associated structures and five bulk tailings areas. A former mining camp and several cabins are located directly across from the site on the other side of Jim Creek and are occasionally occupied by the mill owners. The site is located within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) trailhead and campground are located immediately downstream of the site. USFS personnel have worked intermittently at the site for the previous 30 years. The five bulk tailings sites cover a large area and it is believed that tailings have been scattered by wind and water over the drainage area. The erosion has resulted in shallow deposits around the tailings sites and downstream near the USFS campground and trailhead. A USFS-hired contractor conducted a site assessment that included a human health risk assessment. The report determined that the potential risk to the health of campers and recreational users was high for lead and extremely high for arsenic. In February 2008, the USFS asked the Bureau of Community and Environmental Health (BCEH) to further evaluate the possible risk associated with arsenic and lead exposure to trail crew members working in and around the Livingston Mill. This report presents a human health-focused data review and assessment of potential hazards posed by tailings piles located on the site. 

Lead exposure; *Arsenic exposure; *Health consultation; *Health risks; *Mines; *Water pollution effects; Workers; Public health; Child health concerns; Recommendations; Contaminants; Health hazards; Livingston Mill; Lead-zinc-silver ore processing facility; Clayton (Idaho)