Uranium contamination threatens Colorado resident’s drinking water

Cotter Corp has come under fire after Colorado health officials discovered that nearly three-quarters of a ton of concentrated uranium was piling up at the company’s defunct mine.

In an effort to protect metro-area drinking water, Cotter Corp removed and stored uranium in plastic containers at a mine the company acquired in 1965. The uranium was collected from groundwater by pumps Cotter Corp had installed along Ralston Creek just below the mine.  Although Cotter Corp maintains that they have a license to store and dispose of such highly toxic material, state officials contend that no such license exists in the state.

According to the press, “The uranium and other captured contaminants are removed before water is pumped into the creek, which flows into a Denver drinking-water-supply reservoir for 1.3 million metro residents.”

While Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety officials urged Cotter Corp to clean up the mine, they have confirmed that no cleaning efforts have yet begun.

Read more at Denverpost.com