[13], As part of the clean up of the RMA, much of the soil, up to 10 feet below the surface was removed from the site. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Fish and Wildlife Service establishes a field office at the RMA to manage bald eagles and other wildlife. U.S. The Army and Shell took remedial actions to prevent the contamination that includes the installation of the groundwater barrier system which treated approximately 1 billion gallons of water every year. Its latest plan calls for waiting 20 years in hopes that better, less expensive technology emerges or the unexploded shells degrade to a safe level. Rocky Mountain National Park Tour from Denver 49 Recommended Full-day Tours from $195.00 per adult Private Rocky Mountain National Park from Denver and Boulder 49 Recommended Full-day Tours from $849.00 per group (up to 5) Hiking Adventure in Rocky Mountain National Park from Denver 265 Recommended Full-day Tours from $139.00 per adult The documents provide the framework, purpose and overall rationale for remediation of the site. The site was placed in 1987 on the EPAs National Priorities List, which is also known as the Superfund list. Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Replacement water for South Adams County Water and Sanitation District. More recently, it has been used as a storage facility for excess office furniture and equipment. During November 1967, the Denver region was shaken by five moderate earthquakes. Only one, on July 15, caused minor damage at Commerce City. Following a final land transfer, the Refuge expands to 15,000 acres and becomes one of the largest urban national wildlife refuges in the United States. independent local journalism in Denver. Official websites use .gov 1984The U.S. Army conducts the RMA Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study, which includes the systematic investigation of contamination and the development and evaluation of cleanupalternatives. The cleanup was completed in 2010 and five large parcels of land have been deleted from the NPL, creating opportunities for reuse development and expansion of the Refuge. Eating fish and game from the refuge is forbidden. The U.S. In 2009, the state of Colorado, Shell Oil Co., and the United States Army settled a lawsuit pertaining to damages to the states natural resources from past activities at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal that caused extensive contamination of soil and water at the site. August 24, 2011 [12] Though the cleanup of the site was considered complete in 2010, soil and groundwater monitoring practices occur every five years to ensure the effects of the clean-up remain. Additionally, studies performed at Colorado State University found no increased risk of Arsenic, Mercury, or neurotoxicity in communities within 15 miles of the RMA.[16][17]. The well remained unused for nearly 20 years. But cleanup costs for an area where contaminated waste is stored are soaring, and Department of Energy investigators say the project has been plagued by fraud and mismanagement. Air monitoring surveillance continued until the end of July 2009. Also, they noted that if all groundwater were to be cleared for human consumption, the cost would be $500 million annually. Colorado health officials contendthat Shells trenches and slurry walls have not prevented pesticides and other dangerous chemicals from leaching into the groundwater. Critics say Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Colorado illustrates the shortcomings of a cleanup designed to be good enough for a refuge but not for human habitation. Beginning in 1942, the arsenal was the main site at which the Chemical Corps manufactured chemical weapons such as mustard gas, nerve gas, and phosgene.The Army eventually leased part of the 27 mi 2 (70 km 2) plot of . He began working at the newspaper in 1998, after writing for newspapers in Mesa, Ariz., and Twin Falls, Idaho, and The Associated Press in Salt Lake City. Spills occurred in the central processing areas, storage areas, and out of chemical sewers that existed underground. Many mammals and birds were found dead and may have suffered lower reproduction rates or birth defects.[11]. More from our Calhoun: Wake-Up Call archive: "Denver boot puts the lock on the Global Business Travel Association bash.". Contaminated ground water was first discovered to have migrated off of the Arsenal in the mid-1950s when crop damage and affected livestock was noted on farms north of the Arsenal. This new publication offers highlights from the past year, along with news about upcoming projects scheduled for 2022. Any detected voids behind the casing were cemented to prevent possible contamination of other formations. From Arsenal of Democracy to urban wildlife refuge, the RMA has been critical to achieving U.S. defense, space exploration, environmental remediation and conservation goals. Located just north of Denver, in Commerce City and close to the Stapleton Airport, the U.S. Army purchased 20,000 acres (81km2). Join the Westword community and help support By the end of December 1962, 190 earthquakes had occurred. Its location was selected because it is far from the coast and it has sufficient labor force. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. An official website of the United States government. In the early 1960s, the U.S. Army began to lease out its facilities to private companies to manufacture pesticides. The final step was adding Bentonite, a heavy clay mud that later solidified, to close the rest of the hole up to the ground surface. State health officials are asking the federal courts to intervene to stop the contamination on the north and northwest boundaries of the trenches. Mallard carcasses found to have higher levels of Dieldrin. Brighton is 6 miles north, and Barr Lake State Park is about 5 miles northeast. More than 600 chemicals have been used or manufactured at the arsenal, including: Diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP), a chemical unique to the Army's manufacture of nerve gas. Already since 1995, the buildings became the seat of the National Eagle Repository, an office of the Fish and Wildlife Service that receives the bodies of all dead Golden and Bald Eagles in the nation and provides feathers and other parts to Native Americans for cultural uses. Catch . At the borders of the RMA and at some places in the sites interior, contaminated groundwater is pumped from the below the surface and cleaned before reinjection. In the early 1980s the site was selected as a Superfund site and the cleanup process began. The Denver series was forgotten, however temporarily, in October 1966, when a southeast Colorado tremor rocked a 15,000 square-mile area of that State and bordering New Mexico. [14] The following data were derived from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Medical Monitoring Program Surveillance for Birth Defects Compendium prepared by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and published in February 2010. If agency officials believed the sites were unsafe for the public, he said, they would not work there. [8][9] The well remained unused until 1985 when the Army permanently sealed the disposal well. Subsequently, through the 1970s until 1985, RMA was used as a demilitarization site to destroy munitions and chemically related items. The Energy Department told the state it has no current plans to change the classification. 2011In cooperation with federal, state and local regulatory agencies, the U.S. Army permanently maintains 1,000 acres at the site containing the landfills, waste consolidation areas and groundwater treatment facilities. Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, a former nuclear weapons plant northwest of Denver, opened to hikers and cyclists last September, but some activists question whether its safe. These field activities began in the fall of 1997 and significant portions of the cleanup have already been accomplished. In 1984, the Army began a systematic investigation of site contamination in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), commonly referred to as Superfund. The Army discontinued use of the well in Feb. 1966 because of the possibility that the fluid injection was triggering earthquakes in the area. 1969Powered by rocket fuel propellant manufactured at the RMA, Apollo 11 lands on the moon. Soldiers test-fired millions of artillery rounds at the proving ground, some made of depleted uranium. To read the report, click, Archives: Project Descriptions / Fact Sheets, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. 6:54AM. All field work should be completed in March 2023. North of the former Stapleton Airport and west of Denver International Airport, Adams County. The magnitude 5.2 event caused widespread minor damage in the suburban areas of northeast Denver. 1989The U.S. Army, EPA and Shell sign the Federal Facilities Agreement, which provides a framework for decision-making and for completing 14 Interim Response Actions (IRAs) while final cleanup plans are developed. Many of the conversions came after the first and second world wars. 1987The EPA places the RMA on the National Priorities (or Superfund) List. When the cleanup was completed, it was clear that no Arsenal chemicals had been released into the air that exceeded the health-protective levels established for the site since the environmental cleanup began in October 1997. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was a United States chemical weapons manufacturing center located in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Commerce City, Colorado. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge has been transformed from a 17,000+ acre facility used for weapons and chemical manufacturing into a beautiful nature sanctuary. A small herd of wild bison was introduced to the refuge in March 2007 as part of the USFWS Bison Project. In this study, baseline birth defects were estimated from the time period 19891997, which was the point at which the clean-up began, and inclusion criteria included mother's address at the time of birth being within the geographical study area. 1950North Korea invades South Korea, and the U.S. Army reactivates the RMA to produce chemical weapons and incendiary munitions for the Korean War and Vietnam Conflict. The settlement amount totaled $27.4 millionand is to be used for natural resources restoration projects in the South Platte River area. The well was cased and sealed to a depth of 11,975 feet, with the remaining 70 feet left as an open hole for the injection of Basin F liquids. From 1962 -- 1963, the fluids were pumped from Basin F into the well. Rocket fuel to support Air Force operations was also manufactured and stored at RMA. American bison are reintroduced to the site that same year as part of a nationwide conservation effort. The waste fluid chemistry is not known precisely. Weapons manufactured at RMA included both conventional and chemical munitions, including white phosphorus (M34 grenade), napalm, mustard gas, lewisite, and chlorine gas. There is no appropriate standard by the EPA, but the state of Colorado has a standard treatment protocol for this chemical. Since then, the US Army started to operate the site. Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. (credit: Rocky Mountain Arsenal/Twitter) That section borders 56th Avenue at the Gateway and Montbello neighborhoods. From a tiny Pacific island to a leafy Indiana forest, a handful of sites where the United States manufactured and tested some of the most lethal weapons known to humankind are now peaceful havens for wildlife. Hanford where the cleanup has already cost at least $48 billion and hundreds of billions more are projected may be the most troubled refuge of all. Groundwater is also pumped and treated at the site. A medical monitoring program to monitor the success of exposure prevention efforts during the environmental cleanup. The Army was dumping dangerous chemicals into a deep injection well out at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Rocky Mountain Arsenal, among other post-military sites, was a top priority, establishing RMA as a superfund site. Rocky Flats historical public exposure studies, Final Consent Decree between the United States and the State of Colorado, Final Consent Decree between Shell Oil Company and the State of Colorado, Colorado Attorney General's Colorado Natural Resources Trustees website, Colorado environmental health site assessment. In addition, there were actions completed by Future Farmers of America (FFA) between 1991 and 1993 that cost approximately $151.2 million. Baseline rates of congenital anomalies in the study area compared to Colorado as a whole did not show significant differences between populations. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has sued the U.S. Army claiming that dangerous chemicals including pesticides continue to leach into groundwater at Rocky Mountain Arsenal . A civic center, high school, soccer complexand public open space are also located here. Three shocks in 1965 -- February 16, September 29, and November 20 -- caused intensity VI damage in Commerce City and environs. And the biggest bills have yet to be paid. No significant increase was observed in congenital anomalies during the clean-up period compared to pre-clean up, although there are no baseline data prior to initial contamination events because data was not yet being collected and the population was very different at that time. Rocket fuel was blended on-site for the Titan and Delta missile operations. 1952Shell Chemical Co. purchases Julius Hyman and Company and continues to manufacture agricultural chemicals at the RMA until 1982. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a manufacturing center of United States chemical weapons, is located in Commerce City, Colorado. All waste that was left in place is now interred beneath large-area engineered covers that prevent any intrusion into the waste that remains below. Just watch where you step. Estimating exact direct and indirect impact of the contamination is very challenging as the cleaning and monitoring costs are complex. In 1985 the Army permanently sealed the disposal well in stages. Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state. [citation needed] Fish and Wildlife Service inventoried more than 330 species of wildlife that inhabit the Arsenal including deer, coyotes, white pelicans and owls. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal manufactured chemical weapons including mustard gas, napalm, white phosphorus, lewisite, chlorine gas, and sarin. An acoustical ceiling and light fixtures fell at one school. But forty years ago, a series of quakes rocked the Denver area -- quakes caused not by Mother Nature, but by Uncle Sam. The Act also provides that to the extent possible, parts of the Arsenal are to be managed as a Refuge in the interim. 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