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Friday, Aug. 9, 2024

Is slurry used by Colorado firefighters harmful to the environment?


yes

The slurry typically consists of about 85% water, 10% fertilizer that includes ammonium phosphate, and 5% natural thickeners, stabilizers, bactericides, corrosion inhibitors and dyes usually made of iron oxide.

In a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Forest Service’s use of slurry, U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen ruled that the Forest Service has conceded that it’s a pollutant. Case law showed “that the direct effects of fire retardant entering a waterway ‘could include, in certain circumstances, lethal and sub-lethal effects in aquatic species,’” wrote Christensen, of the Missoula Division of the Montana District. 

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