Dumps

Fumes from an illegal landfill sickened firefighters at a wildfire in southwest Colorado and could contaminate a river, officials said. Firefighters found the dump two weeks ago under a dam on land owned by the federal Bureau of Reclamation. Six firefighters were treated at a hospital after breathing yellow smoke from the dump, said Wano Urbonas, environmental health director for the San Juan Basin Health Department.

Homeowners and environmentalists have asked the city to expand a list of alternative sites for a proposed septic-waste dump at the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area in a petition submitted this week. The petition--signed by about 30 of the 52 people who attended a homeowners' meeting Thursday night--recommends that the city, in looking for alternative sites, consider all city-owned property, land owned by other public agencies, and private property.

Two workers at the Hanford nuclear waste dump were evacuated after a container filled with radioactive material appeared to have been breached as it was being removed from storage, the U.S. Department of Energy said. No radioactive or toxic contamination was found after technicians determined that the inner drum of the container had not been breached. The two workers were found to be safe from contamination.

Work on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, though performed by federal employees who apparently made up facts, was scientifically sound, an Energy Department report found. But the work will be redone anyway because it didn't comply with quality assurance rules. That will take months and could cost several million dollars. The Energy Department released the 144-page report nearly a year after disclosing the existence of e-mails written by U.S.

A state legislative panel postponed a vote Wednesday on investigating the city's expansion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill after Los Angeles officials complained they had not been given a chance to defend the decision to lawmakers. While saying he is committed to seeking the state audit, Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles), who chairs the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, said he agreed to a request by city officials to allow them to answer any questions he might have about the expansion.

A nuclear waste dump in the Russian Arctic may be in danger of exploding because of salt water corrosion in its three enormous storage tanks, the Norwegian environmental group said. The group Bellona, citing a report from the Russian nuclear authority Rosatom, said the tanks near the Norwegian border long had been believed to be dry inside, but recent studies show salt water is inside.

A Sun Valley aerospace company was ordered Thursday to pay more than $200,000 in fines for illegally dumping nickel and other hazardous waste into the Los Angeles city sewer system. Hawker Pacific Aerospace entered a no-contest plea in Superior Court to a single violation of the state's health code after routine monitoring of the sewer system detected the illegal dumping. "It's significant because they are paying a high price for violating the law," said Deputy City Atty. Elise Ruden.

A grim-faced George AuClair Jr. wandered his 25-acre patch of desert looking every inch the broken man. "I'm ashamed of what happened here, but you can't lie about it," said the Torres Martinez tribal member. "You have to own up when you do wrong." Not far away, bulldozers piled up mountains of junk from AuClair's illegal dump, a dump so toxic it has been declared a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency. He now faces millions of dollars in fines. AuClair's site isn't unusual.

By a 23-3 margin, the state Senate on Thursday approved and sent to the Assembly legislation to place some limits on the construction of new homes, schools and hospitals within 2,000 feet of garbage dumps in the San Fernando Valley area. At present, there are no restrictions on how close to a landfill homes can be built. But under the bill by Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Tarzana), the city of Los Angeles or Los Angeles County would be required to hold a hearing to determine that noise, traffic, odor or other nuisances could be reduced.

Breaking a long and bitter impasse, Indian leaders and environmentalists on Tuesday struck a delicate compromise that would give tribes a way to adopt state regulations for landfills and toxic dumps built on their sovereign lands. The compromise comes after weeks of intense behind-the-scenes negotiations over the fate of a bill by Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Rancho San Diego), who has been trying to force Indians around California to follow state environmental guidelines.