Rocky Flats, Colorado
"Plutonium is a man-made material produced as a by-product of nuclear reactions. It remains radioactive and highly toxic for tens of thousands of years and must be handled with specialized equipment to protect workers and prevent the material from dispersing into the environment." Report "Plutonium Storage at DOE's Rocky Flats Plant"
Rocky Flats was a government owned and contractor-operated plant that reprocessed nuclear materials into plutonium triggers for nuclear warheads.
- produced over 70,000 triggers.
- mainly used Plutonium, Uranium, and Americium.
- also used Beryllium, PCBs, sulfuric acid, and carbon tetrachloride.
- infiltrated the air, water supply, and soil of the residential areas around the plant.
- can cause many forms of cancer, including leukemia, thyroid, prostate, and lung cancer.
"When operations were suspended at the plant in 1989, DOE intended to restart them within a few months. As a result, the plutonium was left in place or was packaged for short-term storage. For example, plutonium liquids were left in tanks, plastic bottles, or piping. However, the operations were never restarted and the plutonium remains either where it was when the plant shut down or packaged for what was intended to be temporary short-term storage. This situation has resulted in a number of safety concerns, including plutonium liquids leaking from pipes and tanks, fire hazards, and risks of exposing workers to plutonium." Report "Plutonium Storage at DOE's Rocky Flats Plant"
As of 1994, the government’s own report cited the possibility of accidental criticality, with "about 12.8 metric tons of plutonium [was] being stored at Rocky Flats in four basic forms-plutonium metal, plutonium oxides, plutonium contained in liquids, and plutonium residues," but clean-up was not finished until 2005. The government still does not acknowledge the full effects of the long-term exposure the chemicals had on the environment and people.
"Unbeknownst to the public, the two fires in 1957 and 1969 had sent toxic plumes throughout the Denver area, and for years the plant had routinely released plutonium into the air." Kristen Iversen
Lingering effects. Courtesy of Democracy Now.
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"No one in our community knows what goes on at Rocky Flats. This is a secret operation, not subject to any
laws of the state." Kristen Iversen