Denver is expected next week to ship five containers of low-level radioactive material to a disposal facility in Adams County – a move not being welcomed by the county.
It’s the latest action in a controversy that has pitted Adams County against the state health department, with Denver in the middle.
“The bottom line is we’re at a point to where we need to dispose of this waste,” said Denver Assistant City Attorney Shaun Sullivan.
Adams County officials say they don’t want the radium-tainted material or any low-level radioactive waste at the facility owned by Massachusetts-based Clean Harbors Environmental Services Inc.
Adams County has lost two lawsuits against the state over the permitting and licensing of the facility. Those cases are on appeal.
Clean Harbors officials say they have spent $3 million to ensure the dump could receive the materials.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says the facility is properly permitted and licensed to accept low-level radioactive waste.
Denver’s request to resume shipping the material to Idaho has been denied twice by the Rocky Mountain Low Level Radioactive Waste Compact Board – which regulates low-level radioactive waste in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.
The board said the request would deliver undue economic harm to the facility in Adams County.
A low-level radioactive substance called radium was produced in the city in the early 20th century and then used in road projects.
Radon gas emitted from decaying radium causes lung cancer, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Denver Radium Site, consisting of 65 properties, was made a Superfund site in 1983, and the city has been removing the material for a decade.
The project was to be completed next year but has been held up by the legal problems.
The state said Denver could temporarily store the radium-tainted materials excavated from its 2005 work for one year.
In October, the state granted Denver a nine-month extension.
Denver officials now say they want to resume the project and get rid of the stored materials.
Next week, 20 metric tons of materials will be placed on a flatbed truck for the first shipment.
“The county’s position is any acceptance of radioactive waste, including this waste, would constitute a violation” of county land-use rules, said attorney Howard Kenison, who represents Adams County.
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer can be reached at 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
