Asbestos

Shingle Mountain is Denver’s Worst Enemy

About seven miles north of downtown Denver, a menacing field of broken asphalt shards towers 30 feet over the street, marginally contained by a dilapidated fence less than a third of its height.

Welcome to shingle mountain.

That’s what area residents in this low-income community call the eyesore of a landmark, a recycling depository for old asphalt shingles that poses a serious health and environmental hazard to the neighborhood.

Neighbors worried about asbestos contamination notified the city when the pile appeared last June, but other than a fire safety warning, authorities left the recycler alone.

Now, almost a year later, the issue is making … read more