FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1996                          (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
JUDGE ORDERS LONG-AWAITED CLEANUP OF DENVER RADIOACTIVE WASTE
SITE                             
              DENIES CITY'S ATTEMPT TO BLOCK CLEANUP


WASHINGTON D.C. -- A federal judge in Colorado cleared the way
today for cleanup of a radioactive waste site on the south side
of Denver.  The decision ends a two-year dispute between the
United States and the City of Denver, which had sought to block
the cleanup approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and
the State of Colorado.
  
  S.W. Shattuck Chemical Company had begun work in 1992 to clean
up the land scarred by decades of dumping of radioactive
materials from an ore processing facility.  But, cleanup of the
radioactive property, part of the Denver Radium Superfund site,
has been delayed since May 11, 1994 when Denver served a cease
and desist order on Shattuck, the property's owner.   

  The City of Denver was unhappy with the plan because the
radioactive materials, though cleaned up, would remain on-site. 
After discussions with the city failed, the Justice Department,
on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, took the city
to court in August, 1994. 

  In an order issued today, U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y.
Daniel found Denver's order to be unconstitutional, calling it
"invalid" and "unenforceable" under the Constitution's Supremacy
Clause.  The judge reaffirmed the federal government's authority
to clean up toxic waste sites under the federal Superfund law. 

  The cleanup is expected to begin in the next 30 days.

  "We are very pleased by the judge's decision," said Lois J.
Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of 

                              (MORE)
the Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.  "We
are now able to put in place the cleanup plan to protect the
health and safety of the residents in the area."

  For several decades, various ores, including uranium, tungsten
and radium, were mined from sites around the Denver area.   In
the process, radioactive materials were removed from the ores and
dumped on-site, contaminating soils and groundwater.  The various
properties were combined into the Denver Radium Superfund Site
and listed on the national priorities list or Superfund list in
the 1980s.  

  The radioactive materials in the soil emit gamma radiation
that can cause cancer.  Prolonged breathing of air polluted by
gamma radiation can increase the risk of lung cancer.  

  In 1992, after extensive study and public review, the
Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Colorado
selected a cleanup method involving the consolidation and
immobilization of the contaminated soils at the Shattuck site. 
Pursuant to an EPA adminstrative order, Shattuck Chemical was
directed to destroy contaminated buildings, dig up contaminated
soils and place them in one location.  The radioactive soils
would then be turned into a cement-like block, capped and buried
in the earth. 

  At the time Denver issued the cease and desist order, Shattuck
Chemical  had already destroyed all of the contaminated buildings
and had dug up contaminated soils to be buried. 

  The case is United States v. the City and County of Denver,
Colorado et al., civil action no. 94-D-2004.


                               ###
96-065