Waste drums containing solvents legally buried decades ago and seeping into groundwater will be removed from the long-dormant starting Dec. 11.
The four- to six-week cleanup comes as a housing boom along the Front Range has pushed residential development to within a half mile of the landfill that closed in 1969, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment officials say.
The drums were discovered during what CDPHE described as “property investigations by the landowner.” The Environmental Protection Agency ordered the removal of the drums before they further deteriorate.
Groundwater near the buried drums is contaminated with organic solvents including toluene, trichloroethylene and related chemicals, health officials say. Initial investigations show that the contaminated groundwater has not migrated beyond the landfill’s property line.
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