Category Archives: Rocky Flats Plant

New Affiliate Website: NuclearDeterrence.net

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NuclearDeterrence.net header image

Nuclear deterrence has been a central element of American security policy since the Cold War began. The deterrence concept is straight-forward: persuade a potential adversary that the risks and costs of his proposed action far outweigh any gains that he might hope to achieve. To make deterrence credible, the United States built up powerful strategic, theater and tactical nuclear forces that could threaten any potential aggressor with the catastrophic risks and costs of a nuclear retaliatory strike against his homeland.

During the Cold War, the primary focus of this deterrent was the Soviet Union. The Soviets built their own nuclear force targeting the United States, producing a situation of mutual deterrence, often referred to as “mutual assured destruction” or MAD. Continue reading →

U.S. Nuclear Deterrence: The Cold War and Colorado’s Nuclear Weapons Factory

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Coming-Soon_RFB2_Front_Cvr_300x450pxWe are excited to announce a new book by Farrel Hobbs titled, “U.S. Nuclear Deterrence: The Cold War and Colorado’s Nuclear Weapons Factory,” arriving at Amazon.com by Sept. 15, 2018.

In an extensively researched account seasoned with secrecy and espionage, Hobbs traces the emergence of nuclear technology through the development and testing of the first atomic weapons. Initially intended to crush the WWII Axis powers in Western Europe, atomic weapons were first deployed in the Pacific Ocean theater. But post-WWII events brought an unexpected change in tensions among the Western Allies and U.S.-Soviet relations, in particular.

In late 1948 massive numbers of Soviet tanks and armed forces lined up in Eastern Europe facing a diminished and war-wearied Allied defenses. Stalin continued to amass combat forces and materiel that the Soviet military had prepared for a World War III.

Stalin had been planning this offensive as he fought alongside Allied Forces during World War II. He was waiting for the moment that his increasingly powerful armies could sweep through Western Europe and initiate his visionary communist world domination. Continue reading →

Rocky Flats Retirees – You Have a Decision to Make About Your Pension – Don’t Delay

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A big change is underway for Rocky Flats retiree’s pension plan. To our other readers: please forgive the focus of this post – but you might be curious about how your government treats the Cold War Warriors. The government is dumping the pension plan. No longer will your pension be guarenteed by the Fedral government. You must choose to receive a lump sum or a private annuity plan.

I’ve received my Plan Termination Benefit Kit and if you have not, call the Support Center at 1-800-709-7697.

There are deadlines coming up – the end of May for corrections. Check your information. My spouse was listed as deceased. He assures me he is not now and has never been deceased, so I had to submit a correction.

There’s a lot of detail in the kit and I won’t try to summarize it. Get your kit, read your kit, and make your decisions. Don’t delay. There are various financial instruments to research. There are forms to fill out, some need to be notorized, and if you are divorced there are extra forms. Did I mention, don’t delay.

Whatever you decide, your paperwork must be postmarked by the end of June or you get whatever the default option is.

I’m not qualified to offer recommendations. Heck, I haven’t decided what I’m going to do. Continue reading →

Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge – a new source of science-based information for neighbors

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Rocky Flats Plant fromAir

My own photo of the old plant, from a public document

Rocky Flats Facts began with a book debunking myths about the Rocky Flats Plant. Decades of secrecy surrounded the nuclear weapons plant, and by the turn of the century, greater-Denver’s expansion towards the once-remote location put a large population within sight.

Read the book to learn about the plant’s production days, good and bad, and the EPA/FBI raid. The raid occurred after the Cold War fizzled out, leaving the Department of Energy unexpectedly confused over what to do with the plant, which was now in the heart of the Colorado Front Range.

It took years, and as an employee I can tell you it was terribly frustrating to go first in one direction, then another, with study after study, before a final plan emerged. Much of the waste and debris from demolishing the plant was shipped away to disposal and storge sites, though some contamination was buried onsite.

Today the site is a National Wildlife Refuge, and since decades of security had protected it from livestock grazing, that’s a fine use.

I was recently sent a link to a new website, Friends of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

This site is intended to educate rather than to just convey information. The focus is very much on recent data and recent science. Information on this site is intended for those who wish to understand at a variety of levels (from the very non-technical through the fairly technical) the science behind the assurances that living near or visiting the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge is safe for adults and children.

We have been careful to draw information (whenever possible) from 2012 to the present, and from international (not simply US federal) sources. We intend that it serve as a repository of carefully vetted information (and links to more) drawn from the published, peer-reviewed literature in health physics, radiation biology, biophysics, medicine, and epidemiology, or from personal experience.

The site is independent from the usual suspects in ongoing discussions of Rocky Flats. You’ll find discussions of risk that are useful in daily life, as well as when evaluating the old plant site. I won’t leave you wondering: their headline states “the Wildlife Refuge is safe.”

I hope the surrounding communities value the site’s final use, and I admire the effort and care that has gone into this new website. If you want to know more beyond the headline’s conclusion, check it out.

Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge Update

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320px-Rocky_Flats_refuge_003The Rocky Flats Homesteaders (Rocky Flats retirees) July 2017 news letter provided an informative discussion of what is going on with the Refuge. Sadly, the Fish and Wildlife Service has put a hold on developing the visitor center for the Refuge. Anti-Rocky Flats activists have filed a lawsuit alleging the center “…violates the National Environmental Policy Act.

The activists continue to protest the place despite the fact the Plant has been closed for over a decade. And they have a financial interest in their protests. That’s proven by the fact they are seeking to recover costs and attorney’s fees in their lawsuits.

Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge Safety

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320px-Rocky_Flats_refuge_003Activists who made a living protesting the Rocky Flats Plant are continuing their careers by using the legal system in an attempt to prevent public access to completely safe areas in the vicinity of the now closed Rocky Flats Plant. Vincent Carroll, a former editorial writer for the Denver Post, has written a powerful editorial filled with pertinent facts that deserves wide readership. I’ll submit a few key points from the editorial to encourage you to click on the link and read it in its entirety.

  • The title is “Activists ignore the science that says Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge is safe.”
  • A lawsuit has been filed by activists to prevent access to the Refuge by the public, which, if successful, “…would also amount to a triumph of fear-mongering.”
  • The activists “…have stoked their exaggerated fears of Rocky Flats for too long and the habit is apparently incurable…”
  • “The rest of us can only marvel at their dismissal of science that has been conducted at the site and the consensus among relevant government agencies…that the refuge is safe for visitors and wildlife employees.”

There are many more important points in the editorial, and I request you forward the link to everyone you know who has an interest in the Rocky Flats Plant. My hope is that those who remain skeptical of the legacy of the Plant read and consider the information in the editorial. Thanks to Vincent Carroll!