$2.9 million awarded in Cotter suit

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$2.9 million awarded in Cotter suit

By Mike McPhee
Denver Post Staff Writer 

July 17 - A federal jury Wednesday awarded $2.9 million to 14 residents 
of Can~on City who were contaminated by the Cotter Corp. 
uranium-processing mill during the 1970s and '80s.

The jury took only six hours to reach a decision after listening to 
nearly 25 days of testimony, presided over by U.S. District Court Judge 
Zita Weinshienk. Included in the verdict was a provision to provide the 
14 residents with lifetime monitoring for cancer and other illnesses.

Nearly 30 witnesses testified during the trial, some telling how 
pollution, mostly dusty powder, from the mill contaminated the 
residents' groundwater, vegetable gardens, lawns and homes. Much of the 
pollution was radioactive. Other pollutants included heavy metals such 
as molybdenum and arsenic. The mill, which opened in 1958 and closed in 
1987, produced a dust form of uranium called "yel lowcake'' for nuclear 
power plants. The mill and the surrounding area, located in Lincoln Park 
just south of Can~on City, was declared a Superfund Site in 1984, making 
it eligible for federal funds for clean up as one of the nation's most 
polluted sites.

The 14 residents have suffered a variety of illnesses, cancer and 
arthritis. One woman, a nonsmoker, died of lung cancer. Handicapped 
rodeo rider Jack Hadley has a condition known as multiple exostosis, or 
abnormal bony growths throughout the body. One expert testified that 
Hadley's multiple exostosis was caused by his mother's exposure to 
molybdenum while pregnant.

Weinshienk, in her instructions to the jury, said that Cotter already 
had been ruled to be negli gent, that the jury merely needed to decide 
whether the pollution caused the injuries and death.

"This verdict reflects the obvious facts, which Cotter has denied for 
decades, that the properties of these people were contaminated, that 
these people were hurt and confirms by a unanimous jury beyond a 
reasonable doubt that Cotter ignored the rights and safety of the public 
for its own financial benefit,'' said Suzelle Smith, a Los Angeles 
lawyer who led a team of lawyers for the plaintiffs.

Attorneys for Cotter did not return phone calls Thursday.

The 14 residents were the first of four groups of plaintiffs, totaling 
67 residents of Lincoln Park, who are suing the Cotter Corp. The 14 were 
picked as a cross-section of the injuries and maladies. The next trial 
is expected to start early next year.

Meanwhile, Cotter has filed an application to reopen the mill as early 
as this year.