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Crews still battling goo oozing into Sand Creek |
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011 06:10 |
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Crews worked Tuesday to clean up an oily muck that is running into Sand Creek near Suncor Energy in Commerce City. RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, The Denver Post
Federal environmental officials have taken charge of a continuing toxic leak into Sand Creek and the South Platte River north of downtown Denver, trying to stop oily black goo from fouling northeastern Colorado's primary source of water.
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment officials have known about hazardous leakages in the area for at least a month, documents show. And for a week, toxic vapors at the nearby Metro Wastewater Reclamation District facility have forced workers to wear respirators.
But nobody checked the rivers or tried to stop the seepage. Damage remains unassessed.
Suncor Energy cleanup crews slogged through the muck and used vacuum trucks Tuesday to remove surface material caught in booms strung across Sand Creek northwest of the company's oil refinery. Late Tuesday, they began digging a trench to try to catch the muck as it leaks out of the bank of Sand Creek.
"We want to keep that out of the river — protect the river," said Curtis Kimbel, the Environmental Protection Agency 's on-scene coordinator.
Lab tests of water and soil samples taken late Monday and early Tuesday have not been completed, and the source remained a mystery in an industrial area where refineries have existed since 1938. "But based on the odor and the sheen, we don't want it to go in the river," Kimbel said.
Read about and see photos and a video of the cleanup efforts at the Post's website.
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