Laserfiche WebLink
<br />illnesses. For example, arsenic, lead, and selenium, which have been found to <br />~ be present in small amounts in some water supplies may be a factor in the <br />.J development of certain types of cancers. The presence of cadmium in the air <br />,,) due to smelting operations may also be linked to the development of cancers. <br />Cf) Radiation from uranium in water supplies, radon gas in uranium tailing piles, <br />and from other sources has been linked to the development of brain tumors and <br />the unusual prevalence of cancers in exposed populations. <br /> <br />Despite the evidence indicating linkages between environmental hazards and <br />human illness, the etiologic relationships are seldom simple and often involve <br />personal habits and unique occupational or other "microenvironmental" factors. <br />The need for increased monitoring and investigation of possible <br />environmentally-related human illness in Colorado is paramount. <br /> <br />5. Radiation <br /> <br />Radioactive health hazards are far more prevalent in Colorado than in all but a <br />handful of other States, due both to naturally occurring uranium and radium <br />deposits and to mining and industrial activities involving radioactive <br />materials. Colorado has s01!'e 3,000 active and inactive uranium mines. There <br />are three major active uranium extraction facilities licensed. These are <br />located in Canon City, Uravan, and Maybell. In addition, there are several <br />facilities for which licensing action is pending, and one facility (Homestake <br />Mining) Which has been licensed but has not yet begun operation. These must be <br />continually monitored to ensure that excessive amounts of radioactive and toxic <br />materials are not being released into the environment. There are also a number <br />of inactive radium mining and processing facilities in the State from the early <br />1900's. <br /> <br />The possible public health dangers of low-level radiation from uranium and <br />radium tailings have been recognized only in recent years. <br /> <br />Durango, Grand Junction, Rifle, Gunnison, Naturita, Slick Rock, and Maybell all <br />have inactive uranium tailing piles. In the 1950's and 1960's uranium tailings <br />were widely used for construction presenting possible health problems. Where <br />old tailing piles exist, especially where tailings have been used in <br />construction or where old sites have been converted to other uses, the problem <br />is now one of minimizing public exposure to low-level radiation. <br /> <br />Tailings from turn-of-the-century radium processing facilities in Denver also <br />pose problems, especially since many of the early processing sites have been <br />converted to other uses without any clean-up of the radioactive residue. Their <br />very presence was all but forgotten until they were "rediscovered" in 1979. <br />These sites are being studied for correction under the "Superfund" program. <br /> <br />There is growing concern over the presence of radioactive elements in the <br />State's rivers and streams that feed into public water systems. This presence <br />sometimes exceeds existing and recommended drinking water standards. This <br />radiation can be either natural or induced by uranium mining and milling <br />activities. Water quality standards for radioactivity have been promulgated <br />for the <br /> <br />-11- <br /> <br />"'4';_"', <br /> <br />'J.' <br />