This spring, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had planned to conduct a prescribed burn to reduce vegetation and kill invasive weeds on 701 acres of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, nearly 4,000 acres of grassland prairie surrounding the site of a former nuclear weapons production facility outside Arvada, Colorado.
After local uproar, the FWS canceled the spring burn in early February, but burning is still a “management tool” they will consider using in the future, according to Noreen Walsh, regional director for FWS’s Mountain-Prairie Region – despite concerns of radioactive contamination.
Local activists and experts, including an air quality meteorologist and a former Department of Energy contractor, argue that burning will release radioactive plutonium from grasses and soils that may drift into nearby communities in Arvada, Broomfield and Boulder, and possibly as far as Denver, which is 16 miles away. The spring burn would’ve taken place on the southern portion of the wildlife refuge, adjacent to the Candelas and Whisper Creek housing developments.
Operations contaminated the soils and groundwater of the plant site with radioactive plutonium, americium, uranium and other toxic chemicals.
The Rocky Flats Plant manufactured more than 70,000 plutonium “triggers” for nuclear weapons from 1952 until 1989, when a raid by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for alleged environmental crimes – along with the end of the Cold War – put an end to production.
Multiple fires, leaking storage drums, unlined disposal trenches, pipelines, storage tanks, landfills, incineration, buried buildings, and routine operations contaminated the soils and groundwater of the plant site – and, according to some evidence, the refuge lands and beyond – with radioactive plutonium, americium, uranium and other toxic chemicals, such as carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, nitrates and chromium.
Plutonium-239, with a half-life of 24,100 years, was “released to the air and water in greater quantities than most of the other radioactive materials used at the site,” according to the “Technical Summary Report for the Historical Public Exposures Studies for Rocky Flats,” a 1999 report by the Radiological Assessments Corporation.
Walnut Creek and Woman Creek flow through Rocky Flats and over the years have received storm runoff contaminated with plutonium and tritium, according to the State of Colorado. Walnut Creek flows into the Great Western Reservoir, which was the drinking water supply for the city of Broomfield until 1997, when contamination concerns resulted in the city procuring a new source. Woman Creek flows into Standley Lake, a current drinking water source for the cities of Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn and Federal Heights.
Internal plutonium exposure is an “extremely serious health hazard,” according to the EPA. Once plutonium gets inside the body, either by inhalation or through wounds, it remains there for decades, “exposing organs and tissues to radiation, and increasing the risk of cancer.” As a toxic metal, plutonium can also harm kidneys.
An online petition created by LeRoy Moore, founder of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center and former committee member of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, addressed to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and President Barack Obama, demanding that the FWS end prescribed burning at the refuge, has 2,061 signatures. The Moveon.org petition claims that the burn will “endanger public health by releasing plutonium particles.”
The FWS, EPA, Department of Energy (DOE) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) insist that the levels of plutonium contamination at the refuge are so low as to be of no danger to the public and that the use of prescribed fire “would not pose a significant risk to firefighters, Service personnel, or the general public.”
Fear of Fire
The Rocky Flats Stewardship Council, a body overseeing the Rocky Flats site consisting of representatives of local governments, unanimously opposes prescribed burning at Rocky Flats and is encouraging the Fish and Wildlife Service to pursue other options due to “widespread community concern that will not be sufficiently alleviated through any public education process.”
Rocky Flats became one of the most hazardous Superfund sites in the country.
At a January 26, 2015, meeting of the Stewardship Council, David Lucas, FWS refuge manager, told the council that the FWS only took ownership of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge with the understanding that it could manage the lands in any way the agency saw fit, including prescribed burns.
The City of Arvada, adjacent to the refuge, along with the nearby towns of Superior and Northglenn, has joined with the Stewardship Council to oppose burning. In a letter dated December 8, 2014, the Town of Superior warned that a prescribed burn would “cause unnecessary concern to the residents of Superior and has the potential for airborne contamination from the site. The potential harm that could be done if there were any radioactive matter released as a result far outweighs the benefit.”
Ultimately, however, the final decision lies not with local governments, but with the FWS, a federal agency housed under the Department of the Interior.
Buried in the Past?
The Rocky Flats Plant officially closed in 1994 and Rocky Flats became one of the most hazardous Superfund sites in the country. A $7 billion cleanup from 1995 to 2005 included the removal of over 800 structures, and more than 500,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste – the waste amounting to a 65-story building as long and wide as a football field – according to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The cleanup did not remove all contamination at the plant site, which remains under DOE stewardship and off limits to the public, with residual contamination in the production areas, settling ponds and two landfills.
Nor did the cleanup remediate surrounding lands that became the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge in 2007. The refuge has yet to be opened to the public, though plans to do so have been in the works for years.
In a 2005 letter to US Rep. Bob Beauprez, the US Fish and Wildlife regional director acknowledged that the refuge land has “very low levels of plutonium contamination” that the EPA maintains is of “no threat to human health and the environment.”
A 1972 study found that soil contamination in offsite areas east of the former plant site “ranges up to hundreds of times that from nuclear tests.”
However, some studies contest this claim. A 2005 study from the National Academy of Sciences concluded that “any dose of radiation is potentially harmful,” while a 1997 study from Columbia University demonstrated that one particle of plutonium could cause cell mutations leading to cancer.
A 1972 study, “Plutonium-239 and Americium-241 Contamination in the Denver Area,” found that soil contamination in offsite areas east of the former plant site “ranges up to hundreds of times that from nuclear tests.”
In 1974, Dr. Carl Johnson, then director of the Jefferson County, Colorado Department of Health, took dust samples at 25 locations east of the Rocky Flats site and found plutonium concentrations that averaged 44 times greater than samples taken by the Department of Energy. Several of the readings exceeded the DOE readings by 100 times or more and one sample, by 285 times. He presented this information in a report to the Jefferson County commissioners and the Colorado State Health Department and was later fired.
Dr. Harvey Nichols contracted with the DOE to study airborne particles on the Rocky Flats site from 1975 to 1976. In a 2010 statement in support of State Rep. Wes McKinley’s House bill on Rocky Flats signage, Nichols concluded that the entire Rocky Flats site, including the current refuge land is contaminated with “up to tens of billions of plutonium particles per acre” that were dispersed during the plant’s routine operations.
Nichols, now emeritus professor of biology at Colorado University in Boulder, maintained his concerns with contamination at the refuge during the January 26 Rocky Flats Stewardship Council meeting. He said that when the Rocky Flats Plant was in operation, it was on a “routine daily basis emitting tiny quantities of plutonium of the size range suitable for inhalation” from stacks, which he believes can be found in refuge soils.
Biggs warned that “adequate monitoring systems need to be developed prior to any burn at Rocky Flats.”
In 1976, P.W. Krey of the Atomic Energy Commission (the agency that eventually became the Department of Energy) sampled soil across the Denver metro area and published a map depicting the wide-ranging plutonium deposits, with the heaviest concentrations near the plant.
In 2010, specialist Marco Kaltofen of the Boston Chemical Data Corporation analyzed dust samples from a home near the Rocky Flats site and found “high concentrations of plutonium.”
In his public comment to the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council on January 26, air quality meteorologist W. Gale Biggs, Ph.D., echoed Nichols’ concerns about fugitive emissions spread from wind and human disturbance during the plant’s years of operations. “Since we do not know the emissions, the extent of the health problems is not possible to estimate,” he said.
Biggs warned that “the exposed public will not be protected from the plutonium emissions coming from the burn” and that “adequate monitoring systems need to be developed prior to any burn at Rocky Flats.”
Some Stones Left Unturned
The Rocky Flats cleanup concluded in 2005, though concerns about its efficacy remain.
Aside from the remaining contamination of the plant site, the GAO noted that the Department of Energy “did not effectively carry out some aspects of its oversight responsibilities.” These shortcomings included failure to complete certain cleanup verification activities and a lack of independent review for the quality of the data taken during the cleanup.
The cleanup has left “radioactive and toxic wastes in place – both within and adjacent to the wildlife refuge.”
The lands surrounding the plant site that are now the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge include “low” concentrations of radioactive materials, chemical solvents and heavy metal contaminants, according to the GAO. However, since they were “generally” below regulatory standards, the land was not subjected to the cleanup.
The environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan puts the cancer risk as “well within or below EPA’s acceptable risk range of 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 1,000,000.”
Jacque Brever, a former Rocky Flats worker and whistleblower in the FBI investigation, wrote in “An Analysis of the Department of Energy’s Cleanup Plans for Four Areas at Rocky Flats: The Coverup Continues” that the cleanup has left “radioactive and toxic wastes in place – both within and adjacent to the wildlife refuge.” This includes areas that were regularly sprayed with water contaminated with radioactive and toxic waste.
Instead of testing surface soil, samples have been diluted by “digging out a whole bunch of soil and testing it all together.”
Carl Spreng, Rocky Flats program manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), presented the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council with soil testing conducted on the proposed burn site. Thirty-eight samples in 28 locations resulted in an average of 0.23 pCi/g (Pico Curie per gram, a trillionth of a curie or the amount of radioactivity in a gram of radium) of plutonium in the soil, with background levels typically at 0.066.
Spreng explained the higher than usual levels resulted from a 4.6 pCi/g reading in one location, which he says is at the “very low end” of a residential risk range, with less than a two in a million chance of exposure resulting in cancer.
Paula Elofson-Gardine, executive director of the Environmental Information Network based in Lakewood, Colorado, believes refuge lands contain higher levels of radioactive plutonium and americium than soil samples have shown due to poor testing methods. Instead of testing surface soil, she points out that samples have been diluted by “digging out a whole bunch of soil and testing it all together.”
“Weed Invasion” or False Alarm?
The Rocky Flats Bluestem Grassland ecosystem making up the refuge lands contains an “unusual” combination of plant species from eastern tallgrass prairies and western shortgrass prairies, along with plants typically found at higher elevations in the Rockies.
Xeric tallgrass prairie makes up a large portion of this unique ecosystem, a globally rare plant community that the Colorado Natural Heritage Program has designated as imperiled in the state.
The Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, inhabits the site, along with mule and whitetail deer, the black-tailed jackrabbit, black-tailed prairie dog, and several species of grassland birds, among other wildlife.
As with many native ecosystems across the United States, invasive plants, such as diffused knapweed, thistle and spotted St. John’s wort, have begun increasing in the refuge, competing with native plants. One of the main reasons for the prescribed burn is to manage some of these invasive weeds, according to Steve Segin, public affairs officer for the FWS Mountain-Prairie Region.
Yet some studies suggest the weed problem to be minimal. A 2012 study by Buckner and Odasz concludes that the unique plant composition of the refuge, including montane and subalpine grasses, makes the ecosystem “more resistant” to weeds.
Instead of a prescribed burn that LeRoy Moore fears would release plutonium into the air to spread for miles, he agrees with the Jefferson and Boulder Counties study that recommends grazing or biological controls such as insects that prey specifically on weeds.
A five-year study commissioned by Jefferson and Boulder Counties from 1996 to 2001 demonstrated that the presence of invasive weeds at the refuge site was “much lower” than nearby big bluestem ecosystems, and that “the resistance … to weed invasion is striking.” The study recommends grazing with livestock as a weed control method.
But weeds are only part of the reason for the prescribed burn, according to Segin. Fire is a natural part of the prairie landscape and, other than a 2002 wildfire, the refuge hasn’t had a fire for 25 years, which has led to a buildup of dead grass, which might fuel a high-intensity fire, harming the ecosystem and potentially impacting adjacent communities. The prescribed burn would be “fighting fire with fire … to reintroduce what’s natural back onto the landscape” and prevent private property loss.
According to David Lucas, refuge manager, the fire interval in this type of ecosystem is five to seven years and the FWS plans on conducting burns on different parts of the refuge every two years.
LeRoy Moore, consultant with the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, makes the point that fire and weeds aside, the contamination of Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge means it isn’t your typical ecosystem. Instead of a prescribed burn that Moore fears would release plutonium into the air to spread for miles, he agrees with the Jefferson and Boulder Counties study that recommends grazing or biological controls such as insects that prey specifically on weeds.
Lucas says they have been using biological controls on the refuge, though none are working on thistle. St. John’s wort has over 40 insect predators in its native Europe, with some studies showing success in controlling the weed in North America, according to Ohio State University.
Grazing with cows or goats isn’t feasible, according to Lucas. At the January 26 Rocky Flats Stewardship Council meeting, he brought up public concerns about what to do with the animals afterward. Stewardship member and Boulder City councilor Lisa Morzel points to past grazing at Rocky Flats being “very effective” in reducing the fuel load.
The FWS maintains that the area will burn eventually, as almost all grasslands do every five to seven years, on average, regardless of whether the prescribed burn takes place or not. The agency’s intention is to burn the area under controlled conditions and to limit the intensity of the burn.
A “Creeping Chernobyl”?
If the Department of Energy, EPA and Colorado Department of Public Health are accurate in their assessments that the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge isn’t a threat to public health, what about potential contamination spreading from the former plant site to the refuge lands?
The Department of Energy has admitted that high winds could result in “transport of radionuclides to distant downwind locations.”
The groundwater would be the first place to look. The Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site – Groundwater Monitoring Program found “several groundwater contaminant plumes which are slowly migrating.” In its Draft Proposed Action Memorandum Hot Spot Removal, the DOE determined that water migration with contaminants could occur “during periods of intense rainfall.”
Major flood events, such as 2013’s 1,000-year flood, may have spread contaminants into the refuge and beyond.
And then there are the winds, which at the Rocky Flats site can roar down from the Flatiron Mountains and top over 100 miles per hour. The DOE has admitted that high winds could result in “transport of radionuclides to distant downwind locations.”
Burrowing animals, such as prairie dogs, can dig down to 14 feet, while rabbits and coyotes also disturb soil. A study published in 1998 by ecologist Sean Smallwood, “Animal Burrowing Attributes Affecting Hazardous Waste Management,” estimates that animals disturb 11 to 12 percent of surface soils at Rocky Flats every year. The GAO reported on the failure to place a “biointrusion” layer in the landfill in which uranium and volatile organic compounds are stored, the purpose of which was to prevent burrowing animals from bringing contaminants to the surface.
“It’s a dynamic site, not a static site – a creeping Chernobyl.”
Jody Nelson of the Department of Energy told the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council that prairie dogs lived at Rocky Flats until 2008, when they were wiped out by plague. Earthworms can also bring up subsoil, and predators who eat them may leave the site to defecate, potentially spreading plutonium contamination miles offsite.
“It’s a dynamic site, not a static site,” warns Elofson-Gardine of Environmental Information Network. “A creeping Chernobyl.”
As Ye Sow …
If refuge soils are contaminated with plutonium, does that mean that the prairie grasses the Fish and Wildlife Service intends to burn are as well?
Plutonium “does reside on grass and grass litter” at Rocky Flats and must be considered “a major source of Pu [plutonium] particles,” concluded “Resuspension of Rocky Flats Soil Particles Containing Plutonium Particles,” a 1989 study by Environmental Health Programs.
Spreng of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) told the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council that radionuclides found in thatch or grasses were mostly due to rain splash, as “whatever’s in the soil splashes onto plants.” He acknowledged that “burning those plants may release whatever’s been splashed onto them,” but maintained that the levels were too low to harm human health.
Despite pleas from locals, federal and state government agencies refused to test the area for radiation following the burn.
In an 11-year study of the Savannah River site, a former nuclear weapons manufacturing facility in Aiken, South Carolina, the Department of Energy found that grasses could uptake an “extremely limited” amount of plutonium to the surface. The study determined that “small concentrations over multiple years may result in a measurable accumulation of Pu [plutonium] on the ground surface.”
An EPA study from 1979, “Plutonium-239 and Americium-241 Uptake by Plants from Soil,” demonstrated that plutonium and americium could be carried from the roots of alfalfa grass into higher parts of the plant, but that the “plants reduce plutonium upon uptake.”
In 1991, a haystack fire on a location outside the boundaries of the refuge resulted in ash testing from CDPHE. Plutonium concentrations were found to be 217.5 times higher than background levels, according to the Environmental Information Network’s (EIN) summary of the original report.
In April 2000, FWS conducted a 50-acre test burn at the refuge. According to EIN, the smoke drifted “north to Boulder, and along the Front Range, beyond Golden and Lakewood.” Locals told the organization that they had a “metallic taste” in their mouths afterward, which could be indicative of plutonium exposure, as reported by Earth Island Journal.
Despite pleas from the locals, federal and state government agencies refused to test the area for radiation following the burn. EIN’s radiation readings conducted with a hand held radiation monitor “reached the highest levels of detection.”
“The perception of the public is that this is not a good thing to do,” said Lisa Morzel. She points out how rare it is that the Stewardship Council would unanimously agree on anything – yet that is exactly what the entity representing 900,000 locals has done on the Rocky Flats burn. “We speak with one voice,” she added.
Residents are concerned for a variety of reasons, some of them business-related. Mary Harlow, former Rocky Flats coordinator for the city of Westminster, worked for years to ensure that the lands around the Rocky Flats Plant were protected as a wildlife refuge to prevent housing developments on the land. If a burn goes through, she is concerned that the potential spread of contamination may prevent people from moving in to the adjacent Candelas housing development and may even cause Google, which plans to build a new campus in Boulder, to have second thoughts about moving into the region.
She wants the FWS to follow the precautionary principle and “err on the side of safety,” by seeking out alternatives to the burn. She fears that to do otherwise means there might be “another Love Canal,” the New York town contaminated by toxic waste in the 1970s. Locals, such as Environmental Information Network’s Paula Elofson-Gardine, are asking the FWS to test the radioactivity that could be released from burning the grasses by doing a controlled “box burn” in a laboratory. Lucas, the refuge manager, said he’d only do so if asked by a government agency.
While no federal or state agencies have committed to monitoring potential radiation from the burn, the Rocky Flats Nuclear Guardianship plans to conduct monitoring of radioactivity by mounting air samplers to a vehicle and following the smoke, if and when a burn occurs. The results will be sent to a lab for testing and released to the public.
What should local residents do if the Fish and Wildlife Service ultimately decides to go through with the burn?
“If I lived in the area and knew it was going to happen,” said Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center’s LeRoy Moore, “I’d take my family and go away.”
Shirika la Ulinzi wa Samaki na Wanyamapori la Marekani (FWS) limepanga kuchoma ardhi kwa ajili ya kuharibu magugu katika eneo la ekari 701 la hifadhi ya Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, karibu ekari 4,000 za nyasi zinazozunguka eneo la kituo cha zamani cha uzalishaji wa silaha za nyuklia nje ya Arvada, Colorado. Baada ya ghasia za mitaa, FWS ilifuta moto wa spring mwanzoni mwa Februari, lakini kuchoma bado ni "chombo cha usimamizi" watakaochukulia kutumia katika siku zijazo, kulingana na Noreen Walsh, mkurugenzi wa mkoa wa Mkoa wa Mlima wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto wa Mto. "Wanacheza na wataalamu wa hali ya hewa, pamoja na mtaalamu wa hali ya hewa na mkandarasi wa zamani wa Idara ya Nishati, wanasema kwamba kuchoma kutatoa plutonium ya mnururisho kutoka kwa nyasi na udongo ambao unaweza kuhamia katika jamii za karibu huko Arvada, Broomfield na Boulder, na labda hadi Denver, ambayo ni maili 16 mbali. """ Moto wa masika ungekuwa umetokea katika sehemu ya kusini ya hifadhi ya wanyama wa porini, karibu na maendeleo ya makazi ya Candelas na Whisper Creek. Uendeshaji huo ulichanganya udongo na maji ya chini ya ardhi ya eneo la kiwanda hicho kwa plutonium, americium, uranium na kemikali nyingine zenye sumu. Kiwanda cha Rocky Flats kilitengeneza plutonium zaidi ya 70,000 kwa ajili ya silaha za nyuklia kuanzia mwaka 1952 hadi mwaka 1989 wakati shambulio la Shirika la Utafiti wa Shirikisho (FBI) na Shirika la Ulinzi wa Mazingira la Marekani (EPA) kwa madai ya uhalifu wa mazingira pamoja na mwisho wa Vita Baridi lilipomaliza uzalishaji. Moto mwingi, mabomba ya kuhifadhi yaliyokuwa yakivuja, mitaro ya kuondoa, mabomba ya kuhifadhi, mabwawa ya kuhifadhi, makazi ya taka, kuchoma, majengo yaliyozikwa, na shughuli za kawaida zilichafua udongo na maji ya chini ya ardhi ya eneo la kiwanda, na kulingana na ushahidi fulani, ardhi ya makazi na zaidi ya hapo, na plutonium, americium, uranium na kemikali nyingine zenye sumu, kama vile kaboni tetrachloride, tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, nitrates na chromium. Plutonium-239 ilikuwa na nusu ya maisha ya miaka 24,100 na ilitolewa kwa hewa na maji kwa kiasi kikubwa kuliko vifaa vingine vya mnururisho vilivyotumiwa katika eneo hilo, kulingana na ripoti ya muhtasari wa kiufundi ya uchunguzi wa kihistoria wa umma wa Rocky Flats, ripoti ya 1999 ya Shirika la Tathmini ya Radiolojia. Mto Walnut na Mto Woman unapita kwenye eneo la Rocky Flats na kwa miaka mingi umepokea maji ya dhoruba yaliyochafuliwa na plutonium na tritiamu, kulingana na jimbo la Colorado. Walnut Creek ni moja ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji. Woman Creek inapita katika Standley Ziwa, sasa chanzo cha maji ya kunywa kwa miji ya Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn na Federal Heights. Kuambukizwa kwa plutonium ndani ni "hatari kubwa sana kwa afya", kulingana na EPA. Mara baada ya plutonium kuingia ndani ya mwili, ama kwa kupumua au kupitia majeraha, inabaki huko kwa miongo kadhaa, <unk>kuweka viungo na tishu kwa mnururisho, na kuongeza hatari ya kansa.<unk> Kama chuma cha sumu, plutonium pia inaweza kuharibu figo. Mkutano huo ulifanyika na LeRoy Moore, mwanzilishi wa Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center na mwanachama wa zamani wa Kamati ya Baraza la Kitaifa la Ulinzi wa Mionzi na Vipimo, na kuelekezwa kwa Gavana wa Colorado. Rais Barack Obama na John Hickenlooper wamepiga kura ya kuondoa sheria ya kuchoma moto kwenye makazi ya wakimbizi, na wamejiunga na makundi ya watu 2,061 katika mkutano huo. "Mkutano wa ""Fire and Rescue"" wa EPA, Wizara ya Nishati ya Colorado na Idara ya Afya ya Umma na Mazingira ya Colorado (DOPE) unasisitiza kuwa viwango vya uchafuzi wa plutonium katika makazi ya hifadhi ni vya chini sana hivi kwamba hazina hatari kwa umma na kwamba matumizi ya moto wa kawaida haitasababisha hatari kubwa kwa wazima moto, wafanyakazi wa Huduma ya Wanyamapori, au umma kwa ujumla. "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" Katika mkutano wa Baraza la Usimamizi wa Wanyama wa Rocky Flats, David Lucas, Msimamizi wa Hifadhi ya Wanyama wa Rocky Flats, aliwaambia baraza kwamba Wanyama wa Rocky Flats walichukua umiliki wa Hifadhi ya Wanyama wa Rocky Flats na uelewa kwamba inaweza kusimamia ardhi kwa njia yoyote ambayo shirika liliona inafaa, ikiwa ni pamoja na kuchoma. Jiji la Arvada, karibu na makazi ya wakimbizi, pamoja na miji ya karibu ya Superior na Northglenn, wamejiunga na Baraza la Usimamizi kupinga kuchoma. Katika barua iliyoandikwa Desemba 8, 2014, Jiji la Superior lilionya kwamba kuchomwa kwa moto kwa maagizo kungesababisha wasiwasi usio wa lazima kwa wakazi wa Superior na ina uwezekano wa uchafuzi wa hewa kutoka kwa tovuti. "Hata hivyo, uamuzi wa mwisho hauko kwa serikali za mitaa, bali kwa FWS, shirika la shirikisho lililo chini ya Idara ya Mambo ya Ndani.""" Je, Ni Jambo la Kale? Kiwanda cha Rocky Flats kilifungwa rasmi mnamo 1994 na Rocky Flats ikawa moja ya maeneo hatari zaidi ya Superfund nchini. Utakaso wa takriban dola bilioni mbili kati ya 1995 na 2005 ulijumuisha kuondolewa kwa majengo zaidi ya 800 na zaidi ya mita za mraba 500,000 za taka za mnururisho - taka zinazofanana na jengo la ghorofa 65 kwa urefu na upana kama uwanja wa mpira wa miguu - kulingana na Ofisi ya Uhasibu ya Serikali ya Marekani. Utakaso huo haukuondoa uchafuzi wote katika eneo la kiwanda, ambalo linabaki chini ya usimamizi wa DOE na nje ya mipaka kwa umma, na uchafuzi wa mabaki katika maeneo ya uzalishaji, mabwawa ya kutua na majumba mawili ya taka. "Hata hivyo, kwa sababu ya hali hiyo mbaya, eneo hilo lilijulikana kama ""Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge"" mwaka 2007." Hifadhi hiyo bado haijafunguliwa kwa umma, ingawa mipango ya kufanya hivyo imekuwa ikifanywa kwa miaka mingi. Katika barua ya 2005 kwa Mwakilishi wa Marekani Bob Beauprez, mkurugenzi wa mkoa wa Uvuvi na Wanyamapori wa Marekani alikiri kwamba ardhi ya makazi ina "viwango vya chini sana vya uchafuzi wa plutonium" ambayo EPA inadumisha ni ya "hakuna tishio kwa afya ya binadamu na mazingira". Utafiti wa Chuo Kikuu cha Sayansi cha Marekani ulionyesha kwamba kiasi chochote cha mnururisho kinaweza kusababisha kansa, na utafiti wa Chuo Kikuu cha Columbia ulionyesha kwamba chembe moja ya plutoni inaweza kusababisha mabadiliko ya chembe za urithi. "Mwaka wa 1974, Daktari Carl Johnson, aliyekuwa mkurugenzi wa Idara ya Afya ya Kaunti ya Jefferson, Colorado, alichukua sampuli za vumbi katika maeneo 25 mashariki mwa eneo la Rocky Flats na kupata viwango vya plutonium vilivyofikia mara 44 zaidi ya sampuli zilizochukuliwa na Idara ya Nishati.""" Vipimo kadhaa vilizidi vipimo vya DOE kwa mara 100 au zaidi na sampuli moja, kwa mara 285. Alitoa habari hii katika ripoti kwa kamishna wa Kaunti ya Jefferson na Idara ya Afya ya Jimbo la Colorado na baadaye alifutwa kazi. Harvey Nichols, ambaye alikuwa na mkataba na Idara ya Nishati ya Marekani, alishiriki katika utafiti wa chembechembe za hewa katika eneo la Rocky Flats kuanzia mwaka 1975 hadi 1976. Katika taarifa ya 2010 kuunga mkono muswada wa Bunge la Congress wa Wes McKinley juu ya ishara za Rocky Flats, Nichols alifikia mkataa kwamba eneo lote la Rocky Flats, ikiwa ni pamoja na ardhi ya sasa ya makazi, imechafuliwa na <unk> hadi mabilioni ya chembe za plutonium kwa ekari <unk> ambazo zilitawanyika wakati wa shughuli za kawaida za kiwanda. Nichols, ambaye sasa ni profesa wa biolojia katika Chuo Kikuu cha Colorado huko Boulder, aliendelea kuwa na wasiwasi wake juu ya uchafuzi katika makazi wakati wa mkutano wa Baraza la Usimamizi wa Rocky Flats mnamo Januari 26. "Mafanyabiashara wa Rocky Flats Plant, ambao ni moja ya mashirika ya kutengeneza nyuklia ya Amerika, walidai kuwa ""mchanganyiko wa nyuklia ya kawaida ya kila siku ya kutokeza kiasi kidogo cha plutonium ya ukubwa unaofaa kwa inhalation"" kutoka kwa makaa ya mawe, ambayo anaamini yanaweza kupatikana katika udongo wa makazi." "Mwanamume mmoja wa Marekani, P.W. Biggs, alisema kwamba ""mfumo wa ufuatiliaji unaofaa unahitaji kutengenezwa kabla ya kuchomwa moto wowote katika Rocky Flats.""" Krey, wa Tume ya Nishati ya Atomiki (shirika ambalo hatimaye likawa Idara ya Nishati), alichukua sampuli za udongo katika eneo la metro ya Denver na kuchapisha ramani inayoonyesha amana za plutonium za kina, na mkusanyiko mkubwa karibu na kiwanda. Marco Kaltofen, mtaalamu wa Boston Chemical Data Corporation, alichunguza sampuli za vumbi kutoka kwa nyumba karibu na eneo la Rocky Flats na kupata viwango vya juu vya plutonium katika maoni yake ya umma kwa Baraza la Usimamizi wa Rocky Flats mnamo Januari 26, W. Gale Biggs, Dk. "Kwa kuwa hatujui uzalishaji, kiwango cha matatizo ya afya haiwezekani kukadiria", alisema. "Biggs alitoa onyo kwamba ""watu walioathirika hawatalindwa kutokana na uzalishaji wa plutonium unaotokana na kuchoma"" na kwamba ""mifumo ya ufuatiliaji sahihi inahitaji kutengenezwa kabla ya kuchoma yoyote katika Rocky Flats.""" "Kulingana na uchunguzi wa GAO, ""Waziri wa Nishati haikufanya vizuri sehemu fulani za majukumu yake ya usimamizi, ikiwa ni pamoja na kushindwa kukamilisha shughuli fulani za ukaguzi wa kusafisha na ukosefu wa ukaguzi wa kujitegemea kwa ubora wa data zilizochukuliwa wakati wa kusafisha.""" "Kama matokeo ya uharibifu huo, ""maji ya radioactive na sumu yamebaki mahali pake, ndani na karibu na hifadhi ya wanyama wa porini."" ""Miji inayozunguka eneo la kiwanda ambayo sasa ni Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge inajumuisha viwango vya chini vya vitu vya radioactive, vimumunyisho vya kemikali na uchafuzi wa chuma kizito,"" kulingana na GAO." Hata hivyo, kwa kuwa walikuwa <unk>kwa ujumla<unk> chini ya viwango vya udhibiti, ardhi haikuwa chini ya kusafishwa. "Katika taarifa ya athari za mazingira (EIA) kwa Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, hatari ya saratani imewekwa kama ""ndani au chini ya kiwango cha hatari ya EPA ya 1 katika 10,000 hadi 1 katika 1,000,000"" - Jacque Brewer, mfanyakazi wa zamani wa Rocky Flats na whistleblower katika uchunguzi wa FBI, aliandika katika ""Uchambuzi wa Mipango ya Usafi wa Idara ya Nishati kwa Maeneo manne katika Rocky Flats: The Coverup Inaendelea"" kwamba usafi umeacha ""matope ya mnururisho na sumu mahali pake.""" "Kama mfano, ""kuchimba nje ya kundi nzima la udongo na kupima yote pamoja"" Carl Spreng, Rocky Flats meneja wa mpango wa Idara ya Colorado ya Afya ya Umma na Mazingira (CDPHE), alitoa Rocky Flats Stewardship Baraza na udongo majaribio uliofanywa katika tovuti iliyopendekezwa kuchoma." Kwa mfano, katika uchunguzi wa majaribio ya kutengeneza nyuklia, asilimia ya nyuklia iliyopatikana katika udongo ilikuwa 0.23 pSiG (PicoCurie kwa gramu, thelathini ya gramu ya radiamu) na kiwango cha msingi kilikuwa 0.06 pSiG. Spreng alielezea viwango vya juu kuliko kawaida vilitokana na kusoma kwa 4.6 pCi g katika eneo moja, ambalo anasema liko "mwisho wa chini sana" wa kiwango cha hatari ya makazi, na chini ya nafasi ya mbili kwa milioni ya mfiduo unaosababisha saratani. Paula Elfsen-Gardine, mkurugenzi mtendaji wa Mtandao wa Habari za Mazingira, unaoishi Lakewood, Colorado, anaamini maeneo ya makazi yana viwango vya juu vya plutonium na americium kuliko sampuli za udongo zimeonyesha kutokana na mbinu mbaya za kupima. Badala ya kupima udongo wa juu, yeye anaonyesha kwamba sampuli zimepunguzwa kwa <unk>kuchimba nje rundo zima la udongo na kupima yote pamoja.<unk> <unk>Uvamizi wa magugu<unk> au Alama bandia? Ecosystem ya Rocky Flats Bluestem Grassland inayounda ardhi ya makazi ina mchanganyiko wa "usio wa kawaida" wa spishi za mimea kutoka mashariki ya nyasi ndefu na mashariki ya nyasi fupi, pamoja na mimea ambayo hupatikana kwa kawaida katika urefu wa juu katika Milima ya Rocky. Mimea ya Xeric ya nyasi ndefu ni sehemu kubwa ya mazingira haya ya kipekee, jamii ya mimea isiyo ya kawaida ulimwenguni ambayo Programu ya Urithi wa Asili ya Colorado imeorodhesha kuwa hatarini katika jimbo hilo. Panya wa Preble, aliyeorodheshwa kama mnyama anayetishwa chini ya Sheria ya Spishi Zilizohatarishwa, anaishi katika eneo hilo, pamoja na punda na nyati wa mkia mweupe, sungura wa mkia mweusi, mbwa wa nyasi wa mkia mweusi, na spishi kadhaa za ndege wa nyasi, miongoni mwa wanyama wengine wa porini. Kama ilivyo na mifumo mingi ya ikolojia ya asili kote Marekani, mimea ya uvamizi, kama vile knapweed iliyoenea, thistle na spotted St. John's wort, imeanza kuongezeka katika makazi, ikishindana na mimea ya asili. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika makala ya mwisho ya makala hii, ""Miongoni mwa sababu za msingi za kuchomwa kwa moto ni kusimamia baadhi ya magugu haya ya uvamizi, kulingana na Steve Segin, afisa wa masuala ya umma kwa Mkoa wa Mlima wa FWS-Prairie.""" Hata hivyo, uchunguzi fulani unaonyesha kwamba tatizo la magugu ni dogo sana. Uchunguzi wa Buckner na Odasch wa mwaka 2012 unasema kuwa mchanganyiko wa mimea ya kipekee ya hifadhi hiyo, ikiwa ni pamoja na nyasi za milimani na za chini ya milima, hufanya mazingira ya hifadhi hiyo kuwa "yenye nguvu zaidi" dhidi ya magugu. Badala ya kuchoma kwa kawaida, ambayo LeRoy Moore anaogopa itatoa plutonium hewani ili kuenea kwa maili, anakubaliana na utafiti wa Kaunti za Jefferson na Boulder ambao unapendekeza malisho au udhibiti wa kibiolojia kama vile wadudu ambao hula hasa magugu. Utafiti wa miaka mitano uliofanywa na Kaunti za Jefferson na Boulder kutoka 1996 hadi 2001 ulionyesha kuwa uwepo wa magugu ya uvamizi katika eneo la makazi ulikuwa "chini sana" kuliko mifumo mikubwa ya ikolojia ya bluestem iliyo karibu, na kwamba "upinzani... kwa uvamizi wa magugu ni wa kushangaza". Lakini magugu ni sehemu tu ya sababu ya kuchomwa kwa maagizo, kulingana na Segin. Moto ni sehemu ya asili ya mazingira ya nyanda na, mbali na moto wa 2002 wa mwituni, makazi hayajawahi kuwa na moto kwa miaka 25, ambayo imesababisha mkusanyiko wa nyasi zilizokufa, ambazo zinaweza kuchochea moto wa nguvu, kuharibu mazingira na uwezekano wa kuathiri jamii zilizo karibu. Kuungua iliyopendekezwa ingekuwa "kupigana moto na moto... kuanzisha tena kile ni asili nyuma juu ya mazingira" na kuzuia hasara ya mali binafsi. Kulingana na David Lucas, meneja wa makazi, muda wa moto katika aina hii ya mazingira ni miaka mitano hadi saba na FWS ina mpango wa kufanya kuchoma katika sehemu tofauti za makazi kila baada ya miaka miwili. LeRoy Moore, mshauri wa Kituo cha Amani na Haki cha Rocky Mountain, anasema kwamba moto na magugu kando, uchafuzi wa Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge unamaanisha sio mfumo wako wa kawaida wa ikolojia. Badala ya kuchoma kwa kawaida, Moore anaogopa kutolewa plutonium hewani kuenea kwa maili, anakubaliana na utafiti wa Jefferson na Boulder Counties ambao unapendekeza malisho au udhibiti wa kibiolojia kama vile wadudu ambao hula hasa magugu. Lucas anasema wamekuwa wakitumia udhibiti wa kibiolojia kwenye makazi, ingawa hakuna yeyote anayefanya kazi kwenye thistle. St. John's wort ina zaidi ya wadudu 40 wa kuua katika Ulaya ya asili, na baadhi ya masomo yanaonyesha mafanikio katika kudhibiti magugu katika Amerika ya Kaskazini, kulingana na Chuo Kikuu cha Jimbo la Ohio. Kufuga ng'ombe au mbuzi si jambo linalowezekana, kulingana na Lucas. Katika mkutano wa Baraza la Usimamizi la Rocky Flats mnamo Januari 26, alitoa wasiwasi wa umma juu ya nini cha kufanya na wanyama baada ya tukio hilo. Mshiriki wa usimamizi na mshauri wa Jiji la Boulder Lisa Morzel anaonyesha kwamba malisho ya zamani huko Rocky Flats ni "yenye ufanisi sana" katika kupunguza mzigo wa mafuta. FWS inadai kwamba eneo hilo litakuwa na moto hatimaye, kama karibu nyasi zote hufanya kila baada ya miaka mitano hadi saba, kwa wastani, bila kujali kama kuchomwa kwa kawaida hufanyika au la. Kusudi la shirika hilo ni kuchoma eneo hilo chini ya hali zilizodhibitiwa na kupunguza nguvu ya kuchoma. "Chernobyl inayotambaa"? "Kama Idara ya Nishati, EPA na Idara ya Afya ya Umma ya Colorado ni sahihi katika tathmini zao kwamba Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge si tishio kwa afya ya umma, nini kuhusu uwezekano wa uchafuzi kuenea kutoka tovuti ya zamani ya kiwanda kwa ardhi ya hifadhi? """ Idara ya Nishati imekiri kwamba upepo mkali unaweza kusababisha "usafirishaji wa radionuclides kwa maeneo ya mbali chini ya upepo". Maji ya chini ya ardhi yangekuwa mahali pa kwanza pa kuangalia. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika ripoti ya ""Makampuni ya Maji ya Rocky Flats"" ya mwaka 2013, ""Makampuni ya Maji ya Rocky Flats"" yanaonyesha kuwa ""mabadiliko makubwa ya maji ya chini ya ardhi, kama vile mafuriko ya mwaka wa 2013,"" yanaweza kusababisha mafuriko ya maji ya chini ya ardhi." Upepo wa juu unaoweza kuanguka kutoka kwenye milima ya Flatiron hadi zaidi ya kilomita 100 kwa saa. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""mwisho wa upepo mkali unaweza kusababisha usafirishaji wa radionuclides kwa maeneo ya mbali chini ya upepo"" - wanyama wa kuchimba, kama mbwa wa prairie, wanaweza kuchimba chini ya mita 14, wakati sungura na coyotes pia huchafua udongo." "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika utafiti uliochapishwa mwaka 1998 na mwanasaikolojia Sean Smallwood, ""Animal Burrowing Attributes Affecting Hazardous Waste Management"" (Mambo ya wanyama ya kuchimba mabwawa yanayoathiri usimamizi wa taka hatari), wanyama huchafua asilimia 11 hadi 12 ya udongo wa juu katika Rocky Flats kila mwaka." "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika taarifa ya GAO, ""kiwango cha biointrusion"" kilikuwa kimehifadhiwa katika uwanja wa kutupa uranium na misombo ya kikaboni ya kuteleza, ambayo ilikuwa na lengo la kuzuia wanyama wa kuchimba kuingiza uchafuzi kwenye uso." "Jody Nelson, wa Idara ya Nishati, aliliambia Baraza la Usimamizi wa Rocky Flats kwamba mbwa wa nyanda waliishi huko hadi 2008, wakati walipoangamizwa na tauni.""" Mbuzi wa ardhi pia wanaweza kuleta chini ya ardhi, na wawindaji ambao hula wanaweza kuondoka kwenye tovuti hiyo ili kuchafua, na uwezekano wa kueneza uchafuzi wa plutonium maili mbali na eneo hilo. "Ni tovuti ya nguvu, si tovuti ya static", anaonya Elofson-Gardine wa Mtandao wa Habari za Mazingira. "Chernobyl inayoingia". Kama Ye Sow... Kama udongo wa makazi umeharibiwa na plutonium, je, hiyo inamaanisha kwamba nyasi za nyasi za Uvuvi na Wanyama wa Pori zinakusudia kuchoma pia? "Plutonium ""inaishi kwenye nyasi na nyasi"" katika Rocky Flats na lazima ifikirwe kama ""chanzo kikuu cha chembe za Pu,"" alisema utafiti wa 1989 wa Programu za Afya ya Mazingira, ""Resuspension of Rocky Flats Soil Particles Containing Plutonium Particles.""" Spreng wa Idara ya Afya ya Umma na Mazingira ya Colorado (CDPHE) aliiambia Baraza la Usimamizi wa Rocky Flats kwamba radionuclides zilizopatikana katika nyasi au nyasi zilitokana na mvua, kwani "chochote kilicho katika udongo huchapisha kwenye mimea". Licha ya maombi ya wenyeji, mashirika ya serikali ya shirikisho na ya jimbo yalikataa kupima eneo hilo kwa mnururisho baada ya kuchomwa. Katika utafiti wa miaka 11 wa eneo la Savannah River, kituo cha zamani cha utengenezaji wa silaha za nyuklia huko Aiken, South Carolina, Idara ya Nishati iligundua kwamba nyasi zinaweza kuchukua kiasi kidogo sana cha plutonium kwenye uso. "Kwa mfano, utafiti wa EPA uliofanywa mnamo 1979 unaonyesha kwamba ""plutonium-239 na americium-241 hupatikana katika udongo na mimea, na kwamba plutonium na americium inaweza kusafirishwa kutoka mizizi ya nyasi ya alfalfa hadi sehemu za juu za mmea, lakini mimea hupunguza plutonium wakati wa kuchukua.""" Kiwango cha plutonium katika chombo hicho kilikuwa mara 217.5 zaidi ya kiwango cha asili, kulingana na ripoti ya EIN (Environmental Information Network). Mnamo Aprili 2000, FWS ilifanya jaribio la kuchoma ardhi ya ekari 50 katika makazi hayo. "Kulingana na EIN, moshi ulipita ""kaskazini hadi Boulder, na kando ya Front Range, zaidi ya Golden na Lakewood,"" wenyeji waliliambia shirika hilo kuwa walikuwa na ""ladha ya chuma"" kinywani mwao baadaye, ambayo inaweza kuwa ishara ya mfiduo wa plutonium, kama ilivyoripotiwa na Jarida la Kisiwa cha Dunia." Licha ya maombi ya wenyeji, mashirika ya serikali ya shirikisho na ya jimbo yalikataa kupima eneo hilo kwa mnururisho baada ya kuchomwa. "Uchunguzi wa EIN uliofanywa na kiwambo cha mionzi cha mkono ulifikia viwango vya juu zaidi vya kugundua, ""Ufahamu wa umma ni kwamba hii si jambo zuri kufanya,"" alisema Lisa Morzel." "Ameongeza kuwa ""ni nadra sana kwa Baraza la Usimamizi kukubaliana kwa kauli moja juu ya chochote, lakini hiyo ndiyo kitu ambacho shirika linalowakilisha wakazi 900,000 limefanya kwenye moto wa Rocky Flats.""" "Tunaongea kwa sauti moja", aliongeza. Wakazi wana wasiwasi kwa sababu mbalimbali, baadhi yao yanahusiana na biashara. Mary Harlow, mratibu wa zamani wa Rocky Flats kwa mji wa Westminster, alifanya kazi kwa miaka kuhakikisha kwamba ardhi karibu na Rocky Flats Plant ililindwa kama hifadhi ya wanyama wa porini ili kuzuia maendeleo ya makazi kwenye ardhi. "Mwanamke huyo amesema kuwa ""inawezekana kuenea kwa uchafuzi wa hewa kunaweza kuwazuia watu kuhamia kwenye eneo la makazi la Candelas na inaweza hata kusababisha Google, ambayo ina mpango wa kujenga chuo kipya huko Boulder, kuwa na mawazo mengine juu ya kuhamia katika eneo hilo.""" "FWS inapaswa kufuata kanuni ya tahadhari na ""kosa upande wa usalama"" kwa kutafuta mbadala wa kuchoma." "Amesema kuwa ""kufanya vinginevyo kunamaanisha kunaweza kuwa na ""Mfereji mwingine wa Upendo,"" mji wa New York uliosafishwa na taka za sumu katika miaka ya 1970." "Watu wa eneo hilo, kama vile Paula Elofsson-Gardine wa Mtandao wa Habari za Mazingira, wanaomba FWS ""kujaribu""-radioactivity ambayo inaweza kutolewa kutoka kuchoma nyasi kwa kufanya ""kuchoma sanduku"" kudhibitiwa katika maabara." Lucas, meneja wa makao ya wakimbizi, alisema angefanya hivyo tu ikiwa angeulizwa na shirika la serikali. Ingawa hakuna mashirika ya shirikisho au ya serikali yamejitolea kufuatilia mionzi ya uwezekano kutoka kwa kuchoma, Rocky Flats Nuclear Guardianship imepanga kufanya ufuatiliaji wa mnururisho kwa kuweka sampuli za hewa kwenye gari na kufuatilia moshi, ikiwa na wakati moto unatokea. Matokeo yatapelekwa kwenye maabara kwa ajili ya kupimwa na kutolewa kwa umma. Wananchi wa eneo hilo wanapaswa kufanya nini ikiwa Hatimae Huduma ya Samaki na Wanyamapori itaamua kuchoma moto huo? "Kama ningeishi katika eneo hilo na kujua kwamba hilo lingetokea", alisema LeRoy Moore wa Kituo cha Amani na Haki cha Rocky Mountain, "ningechukua familia yangu na kuondoka".