Cadmium concentrations in Deer Lodge Valley soils were 

 significantly higher than those in Gallatin Valley soils used 

 for similar purposes. Similarly, grasses and alfalfa from 

 the Deer Lodge Valley showed higher tissue cadmium levels. 

 Cadmium levels in barley grain averaged eight times greater 

 than those from the Gallatin Valley. Cadmium concentrations 

 in the liver and kidney tissues of cattle and swine from Deer 

 Lodge Valley reflect the excess cadmium in the animals' 

 diets, as concentrations in both livers and kidneys were 

 significantly higher than those collected from Gallatin 

 Valley animals. However, other plant tissue analyses have 

 not been performed recently in the valley; therefore, it is 

 not known if other metals are accumulating in crops or native 

 vegetation or if transference of the metals through the food 

 chain is occurring. 



The Stage II RI/FS for the Anaconda Smelter site will 

 likely address such questions; however, the EPA is currently 

 focusing on more immediate hazards at the site that involve 

 human health issues. The agricultural lands are at present a 

 lower priority. 



Hazard or action-level criteria have not been developed 

 for soils in the vicinity of the Anaconda Smelter Superfund 

 site. In fact, the only Superfund site in Montana for which 

 such criteria have been developed is the East Helena site 

 near the ASARCO Smelter. These criteria were developed 

 specifically for the Helena Valley area to assess the 

 potential risk to agriculture (they do not address potential 

 risk to the human population from consumption of these 

 agricultural products) . Extrapolation of the hazard criteria 

 to other sites may not be appropriate due to possible 

 differences in geology (hence natural background metals 

 levels) , soil physical and chemical characteristics, crops 

 grown, climate, etc. However, it, may still be useful to 

 present these criteria to give the reader at least some 

 perspective on what could be considered problem metal levels 

 in soils and plants. The Helena Valley criteria are 

 summarized in Table 3-10. 



TABLE 3-10. METAL HAZARD LEVELS FOR THE HELENA VALLEY NEAR THE EAST HELENA SUPERFUND SITE 



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