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Toxic-dirt shipments to Cotter rejected By Kit Miniclier Denver Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 16, 2002

 Cotter Corp.'s controversial application to import an initial shipment of 30,000 tons of toxic dirt from a New Jersey Superfund site to its uranium mill on the edge of Cañon City was rejected Tuesday by state health officials. The rejection was cheered by Sharyn Cunningham of Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste, who said about 10,000 people live within a 3-mile radius of the site. "We are very happy. The community has said as loudly as we can that we do not want to become a radioactive- waste storage or recycling site," she said. Her group collected 4,000 signatures against bringing in up to 470,000 tons of toxic material. However, the rejection is temporary, "pending submission and approval of a more comprehensive environmental assessment," said Douglas Benevento, acting executive director of the state Department of Public Health and Environment. Cotter actually is encouraged by some of the wording in Tuesday's rejection, because the health department characterizes the initial 30,000 tons as "mildly contaminated waste soil" from the Maywood Chemical Co. Superfund site, said Rich Ziegler, Cotter executive vice president. He said the state concluded that the company's "analysis of public and occupational health risk and safety, both radiological and nonradiological, are acceptable." He predicted that his employees and contract experts on transportation and socioeconomic impacts could meet with state health officials within the next two or three weeks and address all the questions, clearing the way for shipments to begin. Benevento of the health department disagrees. "This is not a matter of sitting down for a couple of hours together and having a sudden epiphany ... there are tough hurdles to get over," said Benevento, also director of the state health department's environmental programs. A new state law - enacted earlier this year to safeguard the people of Cañon City living near the site and others along the proposed rail route across southern Colorado - demands a full study of transportation alternatives, Benevento said. Still, "there may not be any," he said. He said the company's environmental assessment is inadequate and fails to consider potential types of transportation accidents "releasing radioactivity or other hazardous material; possible comments; and safety requirements for transport." The state wants current data on rail-accident rates east of Cañon City and a more complete analysis of the socioeconomic impacts, Benevento said, including "the perceived stigma associated with radioactive waste."

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