COMMERCE CITY, Colo.—The discovery of a toxic material called “the dew of death” at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge has forced the closure of the refuge and the cancellation of four wildlife, natural and photo programs this weekend.
Sherry James, a park ranger, told the Rocky Mountain News that about 150 people were expected to take part.
The refuge was closed Wednesday after a blistering chemical weapon developed and produced during both World Wars, called Lewsite, was found in a restricted area near the refuge. State officials said it could be a week to months before the refuge re-opens while the area is examined.
Lewsite, also called lewisite, had the fragance of geraniums. First attempts to develop it occurred during World War I, but it was not used. It wasn’t used in World War II, either.
The chemical is used with mustard gas and can cause vomiting, pulmonary edema and other effects, eventually leading to death. The chemical can penetrate rubber and clothing.
Workers were digging a trench around the five-acre Lime Basins site connected to the 1943 production of the deadly chemical, which is an oily, colorless liquid in its pure form, when air monitors detected traces of it.
“This work was in an area of the arsenal that was known for disposal of chemical agents,” Dr. Ned Calonge, Colorado chief medical officer said in a statement Thursday. “The closure of the refuge is the appropriate precautionary measure until we are certain there is no risk to human health.”
Workers, who were wearing protective clothing, were decontaminated and none showed any symptoms of coming into contact with the blistering agent.
Jeff Edson, manager of remediation for the state health department, said the difficulty of the cleanup will depend partly on whether the material is in the soil or in a container. If it is found in a drum or vial it will take longer.
Edson said his department and the Environmental Protection Agency will review the Army’s plan. He said finding the material was not a surprise and no one was endangered.
Sandra Jaquith, spokeswoman for the citizens’ Site Specific Advisory Board of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, said the refuge should be shut down whenever such work is under way.
“There are likely a lot of things out there they don’t know about,” she said, “and they don’t know where they’re located.”
The 17,000-acre site 10 miles from downtown Denver opened in 1942 and manufactured several weapons of mass destruction, including sarin, before a cleanup began in 1985. Traces of sarin have been found several times in the area outside the portion that was designated a wildlife refuge. Portions of it opened last year.
The former Rocky Flats plutonium manufacturing plant west of Denver also has become a wildlife refuge site, also over the opposition of some environmental groups.
