TCE standard in Colorado

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: May 10
PRESS CONTACT: Michelle Dally: 303-356-2532 

EPA REGION 8 ALONE
IN USING OUTDATED STANDARDS FOR 
HAZARDOUS WASTE TESTING

Nine sites in the Denver area are currently being "remediated"
using out-of-date standards...


A coalition of six environmental and labor groups have sent a letter
formally requesting EPA Region 8 and the Colorado Department of Public
Health and the Environment to stop using outdated screening guidelines
for a hazardous waste chemical called trichloroethylene or TCE. 

Every EPA Region EXCEPT for Region 8 is currently using more stringent
testing levels that reflect the latest scientific data indicating that
TCE is more harmful than previously believed and "highly likely to be
carcinogenic in humans."

As the letter (see attached) details, The Colorado Environmental
Coalition, The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Sierra Club, Environment
Colorado, the Front Range Economic Strategy Center, the Campaign for
Responsible Development and the Denver Area Labor Federation are asking
Region 8 and the state to bring screening standards for TCE up to date
to protect the health of Colorado citizens. 

Less stringent testing means more TCE is "allowable" before further
testing, clean up or mitigation take place. In the case of TCE, Region 8
is using a standard for screening residential areas that was withdrawn
in 1989 and is 82 times less protective than the standard being used by
the rest of the nation's regions.

The threat is palpable. Over nine major sites in the Denver area and 18
in Region 8 have documented evidence of TCE contamination. Most
recently, the Gates Rubber plant, now being redeveloped by Cherokee,
Inc. was found to be contaminated with TCE at some of the highest
concentrations seen in Colorado, and preliminary testing found that the
contamination continued off-site into the West Washington Park
neighborhood at S. Lincoln and I-25 and at S. Logan and Mississippi. 

Stephanie Green lives at 827 S. Lincoln, right on one of the "hotspots"
- she's 7 months pregnant and wants to know who's going to ensure the
health of her baby. "Why are people outside of Region 8 more protected
than people in it?" she asks. "Aren't Colorado babies as precious as all
other state's babies?"

For more information, contact numbers and technical detail call Michelle
Dally at 303-356-2532

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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