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Re: PLUTONIUM IN YOUR PANCAKES: LOWRY LANDFILL
Sorry for the delay in posting this response. I had to talk to the
people from the State of Colorado and the U.S. EPA who are
involved with this project.
The following is EPA's response to the allegations of Adrienne
Anderson regarding public and environmental hazards from
radioactive waste at the Lowry Landfill. As you'll see by the date
of the response, this issue has received a lot of discussion.
Hope this helps clear things up. If you have further questions,
please contact Diana Hammer at
Hammer.Diana@epamail.epa.gov.
nancy
Nancy M. Daugherty, CHP
Uranium and Special Projects Unit
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
nancy.daugherty@state.co.us
From: <Hammer.Diana@epamail.epa.gov>
Date: 12/3/98 10:20am
Subject: Lowry Landfill: EPA responds
FYI.
The following message is EPA's response to Adrienne
Anderson's E-mail alleging plutonium contamination at the
Lowry Landfill. We felt we needed to correct misleading
information contained in Ms. Anderson's E-mail. Her E-mail and
our response were both posted on the same listserv (ecojustice
listserv).
If you have any questions or have not seen Ms. Anderson's
E-mail (and wish to),
please give me a call at 303-312-6601.
Thanks.
---Diana
----------------------Forwarded by Diana
Hammer/OCP/R8/USEPA/US on 12/03/98
10:11 AM ---------------------------
Hammer.Diana
12/02/98 10:02 AM
Please respond to ecojustice@igc.apc.org
To: ecojustice@igc.apc.org
cc:
Subject: Lowry Landfill: EPA responds
Please post.
In a recent e-mail message, Adrienne Anderson alleged public
and
environmental hazards from radioactive waste at the Lowry
Landfill
Superfund Site (Lowry Landfill). A little bit of information can be
very
misleading and can unnecessarily alarm the public. The U.S.
Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and Colorado Department of Public
Health and
Environment (CDPHE or the State), partners in protecting public
health and
the environment, emphasize one important point that Ms.
Anderson has
ignored:
There is no credible evidence indicating radionuclide
contamination at the
Lowry Landfill.
EPA and the State will take many precautions to ensure that
public health and
the environment are protected. We want to be clear that there
will be a number
of safety checkpoints in place to make sure that public health
and the
environment are protected.
In short, EPA and the State will make sure that State and Federal
requirements
are met throughout each phase of the cleanup process by
testing, re-testing and
then testing once again. In addition, for an added measure of
safety, there is
an independent monitoring system in place.
Yes, the draft wastewater discharge permit, recently released by
the Metro
Wastewater Reclamation District (Metro District) for public
comment, does
set limits for radionuclides in the pre-treated ground water
coming from
the Lowry Landfill. These are enforceable limits and were
included to
protect public health and the environment. True, these limits are
higher
than drinking water standards but the discharge isn't a drinking
water
source. In fact, the limits are those for discharges to surface
water,
even though the discharge is to a sewer system; thus the limits
are more
protective than they would legally have to be.
In fact, data collected last May from ground water that would be
treated
and discharged to the sewer system showed plutonium was not
detected, even
at a detection limit 10 times lower than the current DRINKING
water
standard of 0.15 picocuries per liter. Furthermore, all other
radionuclides tested below the cleanup standards for Lowry
Landfill.
In addition, EPA and the State have years of data, information
collected
from historical documents and more than 1800 samples of the
ground water,
surface water, soils and air. Again, these data DO NOT support
allegations that there are levels of radioactive material at the
Lowry
Landfill at levels above normal, background levels; levels which
do not
pose a threat to public health or the environment.
Specifically:
Check point #1 At the Lowry Landfill: Ground water will be
monitored
and treated before it leaves the site;
Check point #2 Before it leaves the Lowry Landfill: The
pre-treated
ground water will be monitored again before it leaves
the
site to make sure it meets all appropriate Local, State
and
Federal standards;
Check point #3 Early Warning System: There will be an
early warning
system designed to alert us IF (and we don?t believe
this is
at all likely) we find levels of radioactive material in the
ground water. If this monitoring indicates, radioactive
material, we will stop the flow. We will NOT
discharge
ground water containing unsafe levels of radioactive
material from the site. Thus, the ground water will be
monitored again.
Check point #4 At the wastewater treatment plant: After the
wastewater is treated at the wastewater treatment
plant, the
water will be monitored again. In addition, the treated
sewage sludge (called biosolids) will monitored
again to
make sure the biosolids meet the highest quality
criteria;
Check point #5 In the fields of eastern Colorado: Biosolids
will be
monitored again prior to land application to verify it is
applied according to State and Federal standards;
Check point #6 Independent monitoring of biosolids: Local
counties,
the local Natural Resource Conservation Districts,
and
nearby farmers and ranchers are participating in an
independent monitoring program to make sure that
all these
safety check points are working and do indeed protect
public
health and the environment.
These statements are supported by numerous documents
available for public
review at the Superfund Records Center (999 18th Street,
Denver, CO).
For more detailed information about the Lowry Landfill, please
contact the
Project Manager, Marc Herman, at 303-312-6724 or the
Community Involvement
Coordinator, Diana Hammer, at 303-312-6601.
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