The objective of this health assessment is to provide an evaluation of the health risks that may result from exposure to abandoned mine tailings in Klondyke, Arizona. The tailings are remnants from an earlier flotation mill and mining operation that was in business from the early 1900's until 1950. Environmental data indicate that the 70,000 cubic yards of tailings that remain on the property have contaminated the soil and nearby creeks with heavy metals. This report evaluates the potential pathways of human exposure to the contaminated media. The contaminants of concern further evaluated are lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, manganese, and boron. Child health issues and community concerns are also an integral part of the evaluation.

The Arizona Department of Health Services received a request for a Health Consultation from the City of Litchfield Park, dated March 5, 2007. The nature of the request was for ADHS to determine if there was a risk to public health from eating fish taken from Tierra Verde Lake. The City sponsors an annual fishing derby and believed that some citizens were eating the fish they caught. The City tested their lake water and for the very first time, measurable amounts of perchlorates were detected. The probable source for the perchlorates was thought to be from a groundwater, contaminant plume originating from the Phoenix Goodyear Airport Superfund Site.