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Suncor released sulfur dioxide spikes, state says

Commerce City refinery had equipment failure

BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN

e Suncor re nery in Commerce City sent potentially dangerous spikes of sulfur dioxide into the surrounding neighborhood early April 12 after an equipment failure, though the state health department’s notice didn’t go out until that evening.

Sulfur dioxide detected from Suncor leapt to 155 parts per billion and 186 parts per billion, while the EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards are 75 parts per billion. But to reach an o cial exceedance, the sulfur dioxide levels must be that high for over an hour. Within hours, a state news release said, the levels had “dropped signi cantly.”

Despite the drop in the monitored sulfur dioxide levels, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment urged families in the future to limit outdoor exercise,

“I think the ask was that the neighborhood be together, I didn’t care which ward it was in, so I didn’t know if (Bedolla) would or not,” Kulmann said.

But Ward 4 City Councilor Karen Bigelow said she sees the move as gerrymandering, shifting the city’s ward boundaries in an e ort to get two Kulmann-friendly candidates, Angie Bedolla and Nicole Matkowsky, a better shot at winning the election. Under the old map, the two would have run against each other.

“Do I believe that they redistricted Angie’s neighborhood into Ward 2 because they wanted to run Nicole

SEE WARDS, P8

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