DENVER - Joseph Pacheco is taking a walk down memory lane to a place that still haunts him.
"I have to go to bed every night knowing what happened."
Pacheco is one of several former Denver Water employees who say they were told to illegally dump asbestos and other hazardous chemicals on a lot at 12th and Sheridan 20 years ago.
He says the water company forced them to keep quiet about it.
"We were not able to speak about this to the public, to homeowners or to the news media," Pacheco told us.
But now, the workers are speaking out because they say they are sick from the contamination and they fear others will be exposed to the hazardous waste when crews start digging up the land for the west corridor RTD Fast Tracks line and a new light rail station.
"Everybody's been exposed to cement asbestos, radiation asphalt. There's paint, thinners," says Pacheco.
"It's outrageous that our own water company was involved in dumping in clandestine dump sites, says Environmental Investigator Adrienne Anderson.
Anderson and her group CO WATCH has been looking into the history of the site and says the contamination could pose a threat to RTD workers and the public.
"We don't mean to be throwing rocks on the tracks, but this area should not be developed."
Anderson says Denver Water should be responsible for the clean up of the site.
A spokesperson for Denver Water sent us a statement which says in part, "Denver Water, along with many others, may in the past have disposed of solid waste in accordance with regulations current at the time. However, Denver Water did not own or operate or have any responsibility for the landfill."
"The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) regulates asbestos. Although handling procedures and disposal methods have changed over time, Denver Water has always followed all applicable regulations regarding asbestos."
More former Denver Water workers plan to come forward with additional stories of illegal dumping at Denver Water's board meeting at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, October 28th. Commissioners will be holding a public meeting about a significant rate increase.
A spokesperson for RTD says it didn't make the mess, but ultimately it will be RTD's responsibility to clean it up using money allocated for FasTracks. The FasTracks project is funded by the taxpayers.
http://www.rmpjc.org/cowatch will be posting additional information on this story.
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"I have to go to bed every night knowing what happened."
Pacheco is one of several former Denver Water employees who say they were told to illegally dump asbestos and other hazardous chemicals on a lot at 12th and Sheridan 20 years ago.
He says the water company forced them to keep quiet about it.
"We were not able to speak about this to the public, to homeowners or to the news media," Pacheco told us.
But now, the workers are speaking out because they say they are sick from the contamination and they fear others will be exposed to the hazardous waste when crews start digging up the land for the west corridor RTD Fast Tracks line and a new light rail station.
"Everybody's been exposed to cement asbestos, radiation asphalt. There's paint, thinners," says Pacheco.
"It's outrageous that our own water company was involved in dumping in clandestine dump sites, says Environmental Investigator Adrienne Anderson.
Anderson and her group CO WATCH has been looking into the history of the site and says the contamination could pose a threat to RTD workers and the public.
"We don't mean to be throwing rocks on the tracks, but this area should not be developed."
Anderson says Denver Water should be responsible for the clean up of the site.
A spokesperson for Denver Water sent us a statement which says in part, "Denver Water, along with many others, may in the past have disposed of solid waste in accordance with regulations current at the time. However, Denver Water did not own or operate or have any responsibility for the landfill."
"The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) regulates asbestos. Although handling procedures and disposal methods have changed over time, Denver Water has always followed all applicable regulations regarding asbestos."
More former Denver Water workers plan to come forward with additional stories of illegal dumping at Denver Water's board meeting at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, October 28th. Commissioners will be holding a public meeting about a significant rate increase.
A spokesperson for RTD says it didn't make the mess, but ultimately it will be RTD's responsibility to clean it up using money allocated for FasTracks. The FasTracks project is funded by the taxpayers.
http://www.rmpjc.org/cowatch will be posting additional information on this story.
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