Animas River

Environmental biologists in Utah tested the waters of a key river Tuesday for signs of a toxic waste spill from a botched Colorado mine clean-up operation that prompted a state of emergency in the desert Southwest.

Workers from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accidentally triggered a massive release of toxic waste from an old gold mine that sent about three million gallons of polluted water into a Colorado river, turning it orange.

Environmental biologists in Utah tested the waters of a key river Tuesday for signs of a toxic waste spill from a botched Colorado mine clean-up operation that prompted a state of emergency in the desert Southwest.

Workers from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accidentally triggered a massive release of toxic waste from an old gold mine that sent about three million gallons of polluted water into a Colorado river, turning it orange.