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Whirlwind Mine Groundwater Characterization Report <br /> Whirlwind Decline samples collected from the flooded decline may be influenced by contact with <br /> the Salt Wash. <br /> However, as discussed above, water chemistry signatures for both the Packrat Mine and the <br /> Rajah 49 Mine are similar to the chemistry of some Brushy Basin sources. Packrat Mine data <br /> are sparse (see Appendix A) resulting from inaccessibility while the mine was in temporary <br /> cessation. Water chemistry data for the Rajah 49 Mine and PR Spring are relatively abundant <br /> as these locations have been monitored by various historical operators and more recently on an <br /> annual basis by EFR for over 10 years. <br /> PR Spring chemistry data for samples collected from 1980 to 2021 are shown in Appendix A. <br /> Figure 12 is a Piper plot of samples collected at the spring. PR Spring water is of sodium- <br /> carbonate-sulfate type. PR Spring water has several constituents that exceed state water quality <br /> standards for groundwater including: pH, 2 of 29 values at 8.52 and 8.60 s.u.; arsenic, ranging <br /> from 0.210 to 0.510 mg/L; selenium, ranging from 0.117 to 0.309 mg/L; uranium, ranging from <br /> 0.23 to 1.70 mg/L; vanadium, ranging from 0.20 to 0.40 mg/L; gross alpha, six results ranging <br /> from 237 to 1,660 pCi/L; radium-226, 4 of 28 values ranging from 5.20 to 9.2 pCi/L; and radium- <br /> 226/radium-228, ranging from <5.1 to 6 pCi/L. <br /> Arsenic, a transition metal, consistently exceeds both the Colorado domestic groundwater and <br /> agricultural groundwater standards of 0.01 and 0.1 milligram per liter(mg/L), respectively, with <br /> an average concentration of 0.363 mg/L. <br /> The average uranium concentration in PR Spring water is 1.35 mg/L, which is approximately <br /> 45 times the standard of 0.030 mg/L. Appendix A shows calculated radiometric values (pCi/L) <br /> for uranium and may also be indicated as exceeding the standard of 20 pCi/L; this parameter is <br /> not discussed separately in this report. Vanadium has a Colorado agricultural standard of 0.1 <br /> mg/L and the average vanadium concentration at PR Spring is 0.30 mg/L, exceeding the <br /> standard by a factor of three. <br /> The analytical data shown in Appendix A indicate variable results for the PR Spring water for <br /> radium-226 and radium-228 and exceedance of the standard occurs several times from time to <br /> time with no apparent pattern. <br /> Western Water& Land, Inc. 31 <br />