Rocky Flats

The Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant (Rocky Flats) in Jefferson County, Colorado, was a nuclear weapons production site from 1952 to 1989. Operations occurred on 384 acres of a 10-square-mile site located 10 miles northwest and upwind of Denver. After remediation from 1991 to 2005, most of the area was designated the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. During the remediation phase, controversies related to Rocky Flats arose regarding issues of government oversight, use of risk-based analyses to determine acceptable levels of cleanup, and disposal of radioactive waste. With its designation as a refuge in 2007, Rocky Flats continues to be controversial, highlighting issues of biodiversity value, ecological restoration, historic value, and ongoing and future public safety.

From 1952 to 1989, Dow Chemical and later Rockwell International ...