Some quotes from CNN's article:
"This is a real mess," said Max Costa, chair of the department of environmental medicine at New York University School of Medicine. "These levels are shocking."
Cadmium is a particular concern for crops, Costa said, as it's readily absorbed.
"Of all the toxic metals, it goes into plants like crazy," he said.
"Oh my God! Look at the lead!" said Joseph Landolph, a toxicologist at the University of Southern California, pointing to a lead level in the Animas River nearly 12,000 times higher than the acceptable level set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
"This is a major, major problem," said Jonathan Freedman, a toxicologist at the University of Louisville, who until recently worked as an investigator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a part of the National Institutes of Health.
The mayor of Durango, Colorado, said experts from the agency were "noncommittal" about the health effects of the contamination during a community meeting Sunday night.
"There was no good discussion of what these levels mean, and that's what's frustrating. I'm a fairly smart guy, and I walked away without having answers," said Dean Brookie. "It wasn't a great confidence builder."
Animas River toxic spill This is a real mess - CNN.com