Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division
Vasquez Boulevard and I-70 Site
This site is one of the "Superfund" hazardous waste
sites in Colorado. A site qualifies for the National Priorities List (NPL
or Superfund list) when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determines
there is a release or threatened release of hazardous substances that
may endanger public health, welfare or the environment. In Colorado,
the lead agency for Superfund remediation may be either the EPA or the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
For questions or comments on the Vasquez
Boulevard and I-70 Site, contact:
Fonda Apostolopoulos (303) 692-3411
Mark Rudolph (se habla espaņol) (303) 692-3311
State Project Managers
Warren Smith (303) 692-3373
State Community Involvement Coordinator
(888) 569-1831 toll-free (extension is the last four digits of their
direct number)
or
Jane Mitchell, Environmental
Epidemiology
(303) 692-2644
or
Victor Ketellapper, EPA Remedial Project Manager
(303) 312-6578
Location
The Vasquez Bouldevard and I-70 Site includes all or portions of several Northeast Denver neighborhoods:
Swansea, Elyria, Clayton, Cole and west Globeville. The study area boundary is generally
delineated by the South Platte River on the west, Colorado Boulevard on the east, 52nd Avenue
on the north and Martin Luther King Boulevard on the south.
History
Three smelters (the Omaha-Grant,
Globe and Argo) operated at various times from the 1870's through to the
present, refining a
variety of metals including gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, arsenic and cadmium.
Only the Globe Smelter continues to operate, refining small quantities
of high purity metals.
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Chemicals
Arsenic and
lead are the chemicals of concern for the Vasquez Boulevard and I-70 Site.
Exposure
The Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment and the EPA sampled soil in residential yards in these neighborhoods
to determine if arsenic, cadmium and lead levels posed a potential health threat to the
community. Sampling revealed elevated levels of lead and arsenic in some yards. Residents
may be exposed to metals through ingestion of contaminated soil particles or by inhalation
of contaminated airborne particles.
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In the Fall of 1998, EPA removed soils from 18
residential properties where levels of arsenic and/or lead exceeded levels thought to pose
an immediate threat to the health of residents. Levels of arsenic and lead present at
other properties may pose a threat to the health of residents. On
January 9, 1999, the site was proposed for the EPA Superfund National
Priorities List (NPL). Listing was finalized in July 1999.
Since August 1999, over 3000 residential properties have
been sampled to determine arsenic and lead levels in soil. EPA has
completed the Remedial Investigation, Baseline Risk Assessment, Feasibility
Study, Proposed Plan and Revised Proposed Plan for Operable Unit 1,
Residential Soils.
Community members at the site have played an important part
in all aspects of the decision-making at the site. A Technical
Assistance Grant was awarded to C.E.A.S.E. Inc., a concerned community
group, to hire an independent technical advisor. Work by this and
other community groups has resulted in the implementation of a Community
Health Program, which incorporates community and individual health
education, a biomonitoring program, as well as a response and referral
program. The Community Health Program will be implemented on an
ongoing basis until the residential soil removal portion of the remedial
action has been completed.
Operable Unit 2 is defined as the Omaha Grant Smelter site
soils and groundwater. Asarco LLC and the City and County of Denver
are responsible parties at this operable unit. The Remedial
Investigation is being conducted by Asarco and is underway.
Operable Unit 3 is the Argo Smelter site soils and
groundwater. EPA is conducting the Remedial Investigation.
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EPA VB/I70 Web Site
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Public Health
Assessment
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