State air quality officials identify five priority toxic contaminants, leading to more regulation

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance

Colorado officials took the first steps Friday in adding new control measures around five priority toxic air contaminants produced by sources ranging from oil-and-gas drilling to wastewater processing to the sterilization of medical equipment.

By choosing the five priority toxics, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission triggered a process that will lead to creation of health-based standards around the compounds in September and then approval of emission-control strategies in 2026. Environmental activists cheered a future in which contaminants create fewer health problems in long-polluted areas, while business leaders warned that AQCC members selected the quintet without any discussion of whether the toxins are feasible to control.

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