CO Landfills Illegally Burying Low-Level Radwaste From Oil, Gas Industry

"Colorado landfills have been illegally burying low-level radioactive waste from the oil and gas industry that they are not approved to handle, state health officials revealed this week.

State health regulators, confirming at a meeting with local governments the disposal of unknown amounts at ordinary landfills, are trying to prohibit the practice and buttress their oversight. Colorado’s booming oil and gas industry produces millions of tons of waste, some of it radioactive, and both waste producers and landfill operators are obligated to handle it properly.

“There is some of it that is just going to solid waste landfills. … It is probably, mostly, staying in state,” Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment hazardous materials and waste management director Gary Baughman said at the meeting Wednesday."

Bruce Finley reports for the Denver Post September 22, 2017.