CANON CITY, Colo.-
“Uranium is forever,” and Superfund sites need to better protect residents from its potentially harmful health effects, said a scientist hired by a citizens group to review Cotter Corp. documents.
“There is no such thing as an acceptable amount of radiation,” said Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, based in Takoma Park, Md. “Every level of contamination is an area of concern.”
No legitimate scientific source can dispute the effects of uranium exposure, he said at a news conference Friday.
“It’s like global warming,” Makhijani said. “This is a public health matter.”
Makhijani is one of two scientists hired by Concerned Citizens Against Toxic Waste to review Cotter documents from its uranium mill here. The other scientist, University of Colorado professor Charles Patterson, will present his findings in April.
CCAT supported their work with a $50,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.
CCAT has been concerned with uranium exposure from the Cotter mill since it was designated as a Superfund site in 1984. More recently, the mill has been on standby.
Makhijani said he has recommended enhanced air monitoring around the Cotter mill site. He also recommends that the EPA adopt a cleanup standard of groundwater in the surrounding Lincoln Park area that matches the national drinking-water standard of 30 parts of radiation per liter, rather than the previous standard of 35.
Cotter mill manager John Hamrick noted that Makhijani had been hired as an expert witness against Cotter in court proceedings regarding the mill’s licensing.
Hamrick said Makhijani’s “site knowledge is not really current” and that Cotter does monitor the air for uranium dust exposure.
Makhijani said the EPA needs to adjust its methodology for determining acceptable levels of uranium exposure. He said the EPA uses currently determines radiation protection standards based on a “reference man,” defined as a 20- to 30-year-old, 150-pound Caucasian male.
Makhijani said this is not enough to determine the effects of uranium exposure on pregnant women or children.
