1,800 gallons of radioactive material leak from Cotter uranium mill line

An estimated 1,800 gallons of radioactive material leaked from Cotter Corporation’s uranium mill. The mill is is about 1 1/2 miles south of Canon City.

The leak was discovered on Nov. 25 after Cotter personnel noticed a leaking pipe and reported it to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. That was within the time period designated in their license to report a problem once it was noticed.

There’s been seven reports of similar spills at the mill over the past several years. In February, a broken pipe caused 20,000 gallons of uranium waste to leak.

The mill is a Superfund site but residents say it’s not getting cleaned up fast enough.

“I’m not a scientist but I would say there is a problem. If I had seven breaks of underground pipe on my property I’d be digging it up and figuring out whats wrong,” said Sharyn Cunningham, co-chair of Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste.

In a letter sent to the state, Cotter estimates the leak occurred in the early morning hours on Nov. 25. An estimated 1,800 gallons of pump back water leaked based on an estimated leak rate of 3 gallons per minute.

“It is contaminated water, with radioactive heavy chemicals and elements,” said Cunningham.

KRDO spoke to the project manager at Cotter Corporation who said when they noticed the leak, his staff followed all proper protocol including sending a letter to the state department of health and environment.

The letter attributes the leak to a failing pump back system. The letter also noted that land outside the site was not impacted. The project manager said all leaking water was flowing toward a pond area upstream of the site.

Carol Dunn who is also a co-chair for Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste worries that this will have future affects on drinking water.

“To me, any water that it affected is a resource that belongs to all of us. It needs to be protected, its a scarcity here in the West,” said Dunn.

One local citizen worries it could cause bigger problems like the Gold King mine did in August. When EPA crews breached a dam causing 3 million gallons of toxic waste to go into the Animas River.

“They pulled a similar situation to the Gold King mine. Here, it’s an awful lot. It’s affected the water tables and all that stuff, the golf course,” said Mike Krein.

Residents look for answers as the health department investigates.