Cotter Corporation NSL Cañon City, Colorado

 By TRACY HARMON | tharmon@chieftain.com | 0 comments

CANON CITY — To test or not to test, that is the question not easily answered when it comes to the Cotter Corp. uranium mill.

Environment Colorado and Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste accuse Cotter of "blatantly defying agency orders and regulations" by refusing to conduct radon testing at the mill's soon-to-be-closed secondary impoundment.

Cotter officials say they do not have to do radon flux testing because the impoundment is no longer operational.

"Our impoundment is in reclamation, which means we no longer have to test for radon flux emissions" at the secondary impoundment site, said John Hamrick, mill manager.

"Cotter is playing political football with our health by refusing to test for the rate of radon pollution entering our community," said Sharyn Cunningham of Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste.

Cotter employees still test for abundant limits or radon concentrations being released from the facility at numerous gauges stationed around the entire mill facility, Hamrick said.

"We continue to test for radon concentrations released from the facility and they continue to show no problems. We are required to do that to protect the public health and safety," he said.

Hamrick said the difference of opinion comes from changes to 1989 Environmental Protection Agency regulations governing uranium mill tailing impoundments — both active and those under reclamation.

EPA rescinded the under-reclamation standards in early 2000 because they were nearly identical to Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards, Hamrick said.

When Cotter declared it would no longer operate using the secondary impoundment, the company felt it no longer needed to test for radon flux because the impoundment is in reclamation.

According to an EPA letter dated Aug. 25, Deborah Lebow Aal, chief of the indoor air, toxics and transportation unit, said Cotter needs to submit an application for approval of modification before it can stop radon flux testing. Aal also pointed out, "We also have not yet received an annual report for the 2008 radon flux testing from the secondary impoundment."

"Cotter believes it is above the law," charged Matt Garrington, program advocate with Environment Colorado.

Hamrick, however, said the secondary impoundment, which was built to take waste from the old tailings impoundment, was never "open" for dumping ofwaste from ore milling.

Aal said both impoundments still are subject to EPA regulations for radon emissions testing from operating mill tailings.

Cotter’s mill is licensed but has been inactive since 2005. The company is in the process of tearing down old mill buildings to make room for new construction, should studies indicate a new mill would be feasible.

"We have been doing lots of operational studies to see if we can get back into operation. The old equipment needs to be disposed of so we can build an all-new mill," Hamrick said.