We, the undersigned citizens, request that Governor Jared Polis close the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) immediately to protect Public Health. The Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE) reported a soil sample with Plutonium five times the Rocky Flats Legacy Management Agreement’s Radionuclide Soil Action Level (RSAL) on August 20, 2019.
That soil sample measured Plutonium at 264 pCi/g, which is 13,500 times background radiation. The sample was taken from the Jefferson Parkway Right of Way which is located beyond the Refuge along Indiana Street. Given that the final report on the rest of the 250 soil samples from this study will not be available until the end of the year, the Refuge should be closed as soon as possible to protect Public Health.
The Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant was a nuclear weapons production facility that made Plutonium “pits” from 1952 to 1989. Rocky Flats suffered numerous accidents as well as major fires in 1957 and 1969 that contaminated the property outside the plant site. In 1992, Rockwell the contractor who operated the plant, pled guilty to Environmental Crimes and paid a $18,500,000 fine.
The Plutonium that was recently found in a soil sample, traveled beyond the boundaries of the former Rocky Flats Plant site and beyond the Wildlife Refuge to where it was found. There may be many more Plutonium hot spots on the Wildlife Refuge property closer to the former Rocky Flats Plant site.
While $7,000,000,000 was spent to clean up the Rocky Flats Plant site from 1996 to 2006, no remediation was ever performed on the Refuge property. The Department of Energy (DOE) admits that 2,600 pounds of weapons-grade Plutonium from Rocky Flats remains unaccounted for.
Independent testing of the Refuge property has not been performed in more than 13 years. Significant natural events, including wind, flooding, and burrowing animals have occurred on the property since testing was last completed.
Good governance relies on the Precautionary Principal, to err on the side of caution when so many people’s lives could be impacted. Despite objections from activists, scientists, and former plant workers, the Refuge was opened to the public in September 2018. Currently there are hikers, horse riders, and mountain bikers using the Wildlife Refuge without any signage about possible risks they are taking.
The residents of the nearby Candelas development have their own entrance gate in the Wildlife Refuge. This sends a message to the public that the Refuge is completely safe when the recent soil samples provide evidence that it is not safe. Out of caution for the nearby residents of Arvada, Broomfield, Wheat Ridge, Superior, Boulder, Erie, and northwest Denver, we request that you immediately close the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge and complete further testing of air, water, and soil. Until this research is completed, the Refuge should be closed to all visitors to protect Public Health.
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