Category Archives: Nuclear Weapons

Another False Alarm about Rocky Flats

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There was an opinion article in the New York Times about the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant that was intended to create an emotional response, or at least it created an emotional response from me. The first sentence reports that the author grew up “…in the shadow of a nuclear bomb factory, so I read the just-released report on the Fukushima meltdown in Japan with special interest.” You have to read several paragraphs before you find why the author had a special interest in the Japanese disaster.  “The connection between Fukushima and Rocky Flats was made explicit when recent soil tests for offsite plutonium at Rocky Flats found cesium — from Fukushima.”

Linking Fukushima to Rocky Flats is puzzling. The plant never had a nuclear reactor or a tsunami. There are background levels of cesium around where the plant once operated, but the same can be said of any other location in the world. Am I being too suspicious that the author has written a book about Rocky Flats that might sell better if there is some connection, no matter how tenuous, with a recent disaster?

The local cities, State of Colorado, and Environmental Protection Agency all performed independent monitoring of the site, and probably would find a comment about “little environmental oversight” to be surprising. The State of Colorado funded a massive nine year long project to study Rocky Flats, the environment around the plant, and risks to people living in the area. That one study is an example that oversight was extensive, and “extensive” is undoubtedly understated.

The most shocking statement in the article is that there was “…potentially three tons of plutonium…” released by Rocky Flats. Vincent Carroll has an article in the Denver Post titled “Again, raising a false alarm” (yes, I plagiarized part of my title to this posting from his) in which he describes how he contacted the author to learn the source of that statement.  “She responded in some detail, basing her case on various estimates of what’s known as Material Unaccounted For, or MUF…” She does note that there is “…some plausible explanation for where the MUF went—such as in waste drums buried at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory—hardly pose a threat to metro residents.”

The actual releases ranged from as few as two ounces but less than thirty ounces released from all routine operations, storage areas, and fires over the life of the plant. Details are given in Chapter Twenty-five of “An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats” with reference to the Colorado agency that completed the nine year assessment of plutonium releases from the plant.

The New York Times article proves the adage that goes something like, “It is easier to make an accusation than it is to explain the truth.” I do give points for creative language.  I don’t recall seeing “profoundly contaminated” and “drenched in plutonium” in previous articles that were critical of Rocky Flats.

Colorado Environmental Film Festival—Rocky Flats

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Part I of this posting discussed the content in two of the movies at the festival about water use and misuse.  This posting will be about two movies that discussed Rocky Flats worker illnesses and plutonium contamination near the former nuclear weapons plant.

The second movie shown was “Rocky Flats Legacy” by Scott Bison, and it is about former workers fighting for compensation for illnesses they believe were caused by exposures while working at the plant. I know people who were in this movie, which made it personal and distressing.

As I wrote in “An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats, Urban Myths Debunked,” I sympathize with people who are dealing with devastating diseases. I also understand the frustration and anger of dealing with government bureaucracies. I don’t know how many of the people would have gotten sick anyway, or how to sort out which of them got sick because of workplace exposures at Rocky Flats. However, In Chapter 27 of my book I quote a study of Rocky Flats workers that, “When compared with U.S. death rates, fewer deaths than expected were found for all causes of death, all cancers, and lung cancer. No bone cancer was observed.” These results are remarkable because 26 percent of the workers in the study had some level of plutonium “body burdens.”  I received a criticism that I neglected to mention there were a few kinds of cancer that were higher than the general population. There were very few cancer categories that were higher, and those results were slightly higher. However, statistics are meaningless to someone who has been told they have cancer and can’t prove whether or not exposures at Rocky Flats were the cause.

There were comments in the third film, “No Water to Waste” by Chris Garre, about plutonium contamination at and near Rocky Flats. The film stated there was no way to determine how much plutonium was left behind when the plant was closed and demolished, because the documents on that subject “were sealed.” I would suggest that the film maker didn’t do much investigation, because anyone who wants to research the subject can find more than they would ever want to read in the numerous public documents created during the closure process involving DOE, the EPA, the State of Colorado, and the Kaiser-Hill Company.

The basis of the statement might be from a story floating around that the government sealed 65 boxes collected during the raid of Rocky Flats that “would reveal the truth.” I am convinced that the people in the Justice Department who orchestrated the raid would have eagerly indicted people if there had been actual crimes proven in the “mysterious 65 boxes.” There was an opportunity to look at the boxes that wasn’t taken. Ann Imse wrote in the Rocky Mountain news that no one had requested a review of any of the boxes of documents three months after the U.S. attorney said he would consider allowing Rocky Flats cleanup officials to see the Grand Jury records. The Colorado regulator overseeing the cleanup said he didn’t have the time to look at them. It’s too bad a review wasn’t requested, because those “mysterious 65 boxes” are now part of a conspiracy theory that won’t die until someone looks at the boxes and finds the contents to be just as boring as the content of the other thousand or so boxes sent to the Justice Department by the plant. (I expect my book would have sold many more copies if I had decided to make it a fiction story about horrid crimes at Rocky Flats. The book reveals a less exciting and truthful story.)

Back to the movie, there was a recent news article pertinent to what was presented. A Boulder Camera article, “Study: Rocky Flats contamination still high,” by Laura Snider reports that samples collected by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center found that “…the area is as contaminated by radioactive plutonium as it was 40 years ago.” The group apparently collected the samples to combat building a parkway past the area, and, in my opinion, confirmed at least three points. One is that the results reported by the site, Colorado, and EPA 40 years ago were accurate. Another is that the plutonium hasn’t blown downwind. The final point is that Colorado Health and EPA officials “…insist the amount of plutonium contamination at the eastern edge of the site is well below levels that would be dangerous to human health.”

On the subject of how much plutonium is dangerous, I considered commenting to the gathering at the Golden Hotel that it is too late for anyone wanting to avoid plutonium contamination. All humans have billions, trillions, or quadrillions of plutonium atoms in their bodies from the many tons scattered around the earth from atmospheric testing.

Jefferson County Parkway and the Rocky Flats Plant II

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This is an update based on a news article published in the Arvada YourHub the day after the original post. The article by Karen Groves says that Golden has withdrawn their support for the project and filed suit “…challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to transfer land from the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge to the proposed Jefferson Parkway toll highway.”  Golden had originally agreed to the road after being offered $57 million for traffic and noise mitigation after “…months of negotiations between Golden and parkway proponents (Jefferson Country, Arvada, The Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority, and the Colorado Department of Transportation to reach an agreement.” Golden official decided to file the litigation after an outcry from citizens despite the fact “…the outcome would be expensive and uncertain.”

Golden citizens mentioned the “…danger of plutonium disturbance…” during construction of a highway next to the site where the Rocky Flats Plant built nuclear weapons components for the military. I will reiterate my comments that I disagree with the contentions about the risk from the plutonium. The entire world and all inhabitants are contaminated with plutonium from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. Details about that and the Rocky Flats Plant’s record of plutonium releases are discussed in Chapter 25 of “An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats, Urban Myths Debunked.”

The battle over a parkway has been going on for decades. I recently received a message from a former Rocky Flats Plant official mentioning that proponents of various parkway options had wanted public support from the plant in the late 1980s while Greenpeace had requested they officially oppose the project.

Jefferson Country Parkway and the Rocky Flats Plant

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There has been long-time opposition to completing the metropolitan beltway by constructing a parkway for vehicles and bicycles on the eastern edge of the site where the Rocky Flats Plant once constructed plutonium components for nuclear weapons. There was a previous posting about the controversy, which is mostly about the plutonium contamination in the area of the proposed parkway. I’ve exchanged emails with the group that was formed to oppose the parkway to discuss and disagree with their contentions about the risk from plutonium. Chapter 25 of the book “An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats, Urban Myths Debunked,” gives detailed information about plutonium releases from the plant, and there was much less released than critics would like you to believe. The bottom line is that plutonium is everywhere from the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, and disputing construction of the parkway on the basis of plutonium contamination is, in my opinion, a flawed argument.

A recent article in the Denver Post by Bruce Finley describes recent developments. Some of the long-time opponents of the Parkway have recently changed their positions because of a proposed land swap that would open more public open space and lock in “…an open-space bridge to the mountains.” “The emerging green ring around Denver includes Rocky Flats, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Barr Lake State Park, Cherry Creek State Park, Chatfield State Park and seven or so county and municipal parks set against the foothills.”

The city of Golden recently modified a proposal to create a bicycle and pedestrian trail where the parkway is proposed to be constructed. They then withdrew their opposition to the toll road after being promised $57 million for traffic and noise mitigation. However, the town of Superior plans to file a lawsuit to block the swap because of failure “…to conduct a sufficient review of likely environmental impacts…”

An article in Westword by Patricia Calhoun titled, “Plans for the Jefferson Country Parkway are kicking up lots of dust,” expresses some skepticism. The regional director of Fish and Wildlife commented, “Accepting this exchange proposal will significantly expand the Rocky Flats NWR (National Wildlife Refuge) not only for the benefit of wildlife, but it will also anchor a network of green space for the people of the Denver metro area to enjoy for years to come.”

The author then adds, “If you don’t mind a little radioactive dust in your picnic.”

The article also provides more detail about the basis for Superior’s lawsuit. “The conclusion of the environmental assessment should have been that a full study leading to an Environmental Impact Statement was necessary to fully understand and evaluate the impact of the expansion of the refuge and the building of a four-lane toll road.”

I’ve told opponents of the toll road that I am not taking a position; several friends are opposed to the road. My position is that opposing the road because of plutonium contamination in the area of the proposed construction is a very weak argument.

First Anniversary for RockyFlatsFacts.com

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We launched  the web site in November 2010, so this posting is a bit late. The “About” link of the web site describes that we established this site to share a book about the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons production plant in Colorado titled “An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats, Urban Myths Debunked.”  We consider that to be a success. We didn’t add a counter to the link for the book until a couple of months after it posting it, but there had been over 2000 views of it by the end of November. Several of my colleagues at Rocky Flats told me they had been forwarded electronic versions of the book, which wouldn’t show up on the counter. There have also been a couple hundred paperbacks sold by Amazon to those who prefer to hold a real book. We’re quite proud that four people have chosen to review the book and gave it excellent ratings (one reviewer gave it four stars and three others gave it five stars). There is also a Kindle version of the book, which has numerous photos.

The only other link with a counter on the web site is the blog, and there were about fifteen thousand visits to that link between January and November. We did 64 postings the first year, and have approved 246 comments. We blog about just about anything that we think is interesting, and the history category wins the most postings with 20. That makes sense, since I often refer to myself as an “amateur historian.” There were 17 postings about the Rocky Flats Plant. Other popular posting subjects were historical figures, current events, and economics.

There is a link on the web site for book reviews. There were 52 postings (which is consistent with the goal of posting a review each Wednesday).  I think my favorite review is the first one posted about “Venona, Decoding Soviet Espionage in America, by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr.

The greatest challenge in doing reviews is that I don’t want to do a book the disservice, and have often had to post reviews in multiple parts. I’ve convinced myself I really should work at restricting a review to no more than two typed pages. We’ll see whether I have the discipline to follow that guideline.

There have been 73 expressions posted, and several people helped me with ideas for that link. It is interesting to learn the origin of common expressions. An example is “making money hand over fist.” It turns out that one is literal, since it came from the process of making coins by pounding blanks of metal with a template.

Thanks to everyone who helped me get this going, the people who have provided me suggestions for improvement and content, and the people who take the time to read the posts.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  I intend to search for content that has interest and value and to work at writing and editing with care. My New Year resolution is to work at respecting your time if you choose to read what has been posted.

J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge

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I was interested in the refuge on Sanibel Island barrier partly because the area surrounding what had been the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapon production facility where I once worked has been designated a wildlife refuge.  The Sanibel refuge was created after Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling, a political cartoonist, urged Harry Truman to sign an executive order to create the Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge in 1945. The designation blocked the sale of land to developers.  The refuge was renamed after the pioneer conservationist in 1967. The refuge has over 6,400 acres of mangrove forests, sea grass beds, cord grass mashes, and West Indian hardwood hammocks. It makes up the largest portion of a total of five wildlife refuges on Sanibel with large populations of fish and the more than 220 species of birds and other critters that depend on fish for food.

Sanibel Island and the southwest coastal mainland of Florida were inhabited by Calusa Native Americans when Spanish explorers arrived and brought diseases that eventually mostly wiped out the tribe. It is thought a few might have made it to Cuba. The Calusa were still there in substantial numbers when Ponce de Leon organized a colonizing expedition using two ships that traveled to the southwest coast of Florida in 1521.  The word “Calusa” was described to mean “the fierce ones,” and in keeping with that description the tribe attacked the expedition.  Ponce de Leon was struck by a poisoned arrow, died of the wound in Havana, Cuba, and was buried in Puerto Rico.

We decided to take the narrated tram tour of the refuge which is operated by Tarpon Bay Explorers. The four mile tour is $13/adult and $8/child. You can pay five dollars to drive your own vehicle, but we decided we preferred the narration by an expert. Our guide was Barry Litofsky, and we were pleased with our decision to do the guided tour. We didn’t see any mosquitoes, but did get some bites from “No Seeums.” It would be a good idea to have insect repellant.

Barry said the most common question is, “Why do the mullet jump?” The fish were frequently jumping high enough to clear the water in the estuaries and landing with a splash. The answer to why they jump was something to the effect, “We don’t know. We don’t know how to ask a mullet.” However, the speculation is that they jump to dislodge sand that collects in their gills while they are bottom feeding.

We saw multitudes of birds, and I thought the two most memorable were a roseate spoonbill at a distance and an anhinga standing near the road with its wings spread to dry. The bird is called “snake bird,” because it leaves a ripple similar to that of a snake when it is swimming under water. The one we saw had a fishing lure stuck in its beak with a short piece of monofilament fishing line attached. There have been discussions on how to capture the bird and take it to the local rehabilitation center to remove the lure. The latest report is that the bird was never captured for removal of the lure and line. We are hoping that that the lure dissolved or fell out.

There are three bald eagle nests and over a hundred osprey nests on the island. Barry told us there are twelve types of small shore birds in the refuge, and they are collectively called “LBJ,” or “Little brown jobbies.”

Much of the discussion during the tour focused on the mangrove trees and their remarkable multiple roots that anchor them. There are three kinds of mangrove trees in Florida and Sanibel and many more in other parts of the world. The mangroves aren’t related except for the common trait that they live in salt water. All of them need to provide fresh water to their leaves. One type filters the salt out in the roots, another gets rid of the salt through pores on the leaves, and the other concentrates the salt in old leaves that then die.  All three methods are variations of the reverse osmosis process that provides fresh water to Sanibel residents and visitors.

The mangrove trees are protected in part because they provide impregnable resistance to hurricane winds. The guide told us that mangroves were removed from Captiva to plant citrus trees. Hurricane winds ripped out the trees and eroded a trench across the island. Another reason to protect the mangroves is that the network of roots provides a nursery for fish. The fish in turn feed the predators, including the many species of birds.

There are American alligators in the refuge, and there was one crocodile that died along with much of the snook (fish) population during a recent incredibly (for the area) cold snap. The crocodile had lived on the island for decades, and over 200 people attended its memorial service. One lonely bear has taken up residence. Barry pointed out half dollar-sized black crabs that had crawled up out of the estuary onto the trees.

There was an interesting discussion of the Sabal or Cabbage palmetto trees, which is the protected State tree of Florida. The center of the trees was used by the Calusa as food. Floridians continued harvesting the trees, especially during the Depression, and the food was commonly called “swamp cabbage.” However, the extreme tenderness earned it a reputation as a delicacy, and the name became “millionaire’s salad.” Almost all of the “hearts of palm” sold in the U.S. is from South America, with just under half coming from Brazil. The trees are grown commercially and harvested when they are about five feet tall at the age of a year or a bit more.

Fishing is allowed in the refuge, and it looked to me to be quite productive. We saw one man with a really large needle fish (three feet long?) Crabbing is allowed only with dip nets. We certainly would enjoy a return visit to the refuge, and I’m hoping next time I have some fishing equipment and the required license, of course. I’m also hoping funds become available to open the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge so I can take my family there for a visit.