Colorado has shipped literally tons of atomic materials to other states, so we can’t just say no if waste dumps that are located here want to take in low-level radioactive material – especially if the stuff was generated in Colorado. But we can insist that state officials decide each case on specific circumstances.
The state is taking public comment until Oct. 11 on whether to let a dump in eastern Adams County accept low-level radioactive materials in addition to the chemical and industrial garbage now stored there. If the state says yes, the dump could accept soils that were removed from some Denver streets because they contain radium and other naturally radioactive elements. The dump also would take sludge from municipal water systems, which under new federal rules must remove radioactive contaminants.
Adams County officials oppose the plan by Clean Harbors Environmental Services Inc. The county says that in 1983 it approved the facility on condition it wouldn’t accept radioactive wastes, a restriction officials consider binding even though the dump has changed ownership several times. Clean Harbors says there’s no such restriction. Some county residents also fear the dump would break its promise to accept only low-level wastes and eventually take more dangerous material.
Doug Benevento, head of Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment, says the state hasn’t made a decision, but he’s leaning toward Clean Harbors’ interpretation of the dispute. He is trying to allay the county’s fears by saying the state will ensure that the company follows all the applicable environmental standards.
Colorado has very limited options to deal with its growing volume of low-level radioactive wastes. Some communities, including Denver, now send their waste to a site in Idaho, but Benevento frets that the high costs of shipping discourages small towns from properly disposing of their sludge.
And not all waste facilities are equal. Operations like Last Chance are equipped with special liners and other safety features to properly handle hazardous materials. Ordinary landfills don’t often meet such strict standards, and Benevento says Adams County is already allowing an ordinary landfill to take radioactive municipal sludge. If that’s the case, it’s hard to justify not having a better-equipped hazardous waste dump do the same.
County officials should be realistic about the options available. We wonder if health and safety concerns are really addressed by the county’s opposition. On balance, logic now tilts toward the state giving a go-ahead to Clean Harbors’ hazardous site proposal.
