colorado department of public health and environment

Suncor Energy’s oil refinery in Commerce City has reported 13 malfunctions since Dec. 1, sending excessive amounts of harmful pollutants into the air as the company provided little public information as to whether or not people’s health was at risk. The malfunctions caused Suncor to release more pollutants than the company is allowed under its two federal air pollution permits, and on at least two occasions those excessive releases lasted for days. In one incident on Jan. 13, the amount of hydrogen sulfide expelled from…

The world’s first legal sale of recreational marijuana happened in Denver on Jan. 1, 2014. In fact, it happened twice. Mason Tvert was managing the onslaught of media that descended on the Mile High City to witness the historic moment, set in motion by the successful legalization campaign he’d led. So many camera crews and reporters showed up that morning that Tvert decided to rotate two groups through the dispensary’s sales floor — with each transaction billed as the first time anyone 21 or older could legally buy weed…

The Christmas Eve fire that injured two workers at Suncor Energy’s Commerce City refinery began when a vapor cloud leaked from an unused pump valve and exploded as the facility was being shut down after extreme cold caused equipment failures, according to a federal investigation. The vapor was released from a pump that was not functional and had not been used or properly inspected in seven years, according to the report detailing the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration‘s investigation into the accident. The…