Last Wednesday, a train carrying atomic wastes pulled out of Rocky Flats, bringing to a close the cleanup that followed a half-century of nuclear bomb production. But even before the train left, new debate about the site had started.
In a few days, the U.S. Department of Energy will announce the formal closure of the former nuclear bomb factory near Boulder. The DOE and contractor Kaiser-Hill finished the $7 billion cleanup within budget and a year ahead of the December 2006 target. Yet when cleanup began a decade ago, even a 2006 deadline seemed unlikely: The feds initially said the cleanup would take until 2070 and cost $36 billion. The Kaiser-Hill cleanup crew deserves applause.
Rocky Flats used to be among the most dangerous spots on Earth, dating to the days of the Cold War when wastes were dumped in trenches and plutonium got lost in drains. Now the buildings are gone. But some concerns remain:
The site’s soils still contain radioactive particles, so for decades it will be necessary to keep contaminants out of nearby waters. Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster want guarantees no contaminants will enter Woman Creek on the site’s south side. Future metro leaders must remain vigilant.
The DOE and local leaders also must decide what to do with the site’s industrial core. Rocky Flats encompasses 6,400 acres, including a uncontaminated buffer area that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will run as a wildlife refuge. But bomb parts were made and wastes stored on only about 350 acres. The DOE says the industrial core has been cleansed and now is no more contaminated than the rest of the site. Critics want the core to be fenced, but wildlife experts say that would impede animals’ movements and be incompatible with the refuge. Fences also would create eyesores in open space that otherwise offers great mountain vistas. If there’s no safety or health reason to do so, it seems unwise to spend money erecting unnecessary fences or to block the views.
The feds don’t own all the minerals under the site, so strip mines could be dug at the refuge’s edge. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., got $10 million in an appropriations bill, but he and Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., have competing amendments that would allow the DOE to use the funds to buy the minerals. Allard should adopt Udall’s more comprehensive language in his measure.
Land west of Rocky Flats along Colorado 93 is open space, but private land between the road and the federal parcels still could be developed. Jefferson County must act quickly to fully protect what could be a new jewel in its open space system.
