Some south Globeville residents are receiving an additional $126,484.90 total from Asarco mining company for contaminating their properties with arsenic and other pollutants, according to attorneys who represented the residents.
The payment is part of a $13.3 million settlement the residents reached with Asarco in the late 1990s. The initial settlement included cash payments to 390 residents and money for contamination cleanup.
The money is being distributed to 107 residents whose settlement payments were delayed when the mining company declared bankruptcy in 2005. The money for this distribution came as a final payment in that bankruptcy action.
All of the residents in the case owned or rented property in south Globe ville within the area bounded by East 46th Avenue to the north, Washington Street to the east, East 44th Avenue to the south, and Interstate 25 to the west.
South Globeville residents had filed a class-action lawsuit against Asarco after high levels of contamination were found on properties. Asarco released arsenic from its Globe Plant smelting facility at East 51st Avenue and Washington Street for about 70 years, starting in the 1920s.
Mitchell Byars, The Denver Post
