Radiation warning signs put up in Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge, Colorado
Signs warning visitors about the potential of exposure to harmful radioactive materials have been put up in the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge in the US state of Colorado.
A press release issued by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center said that the decision by Boulder County and the City of Westminster to erect the signs was "responding to requests from area residents".
"Boulder County and the City of Westminster are posting strong warning signs about the risks of radioactive and toxic contamination facing hikers, bicyclists and horseback riders planning to use trails at the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons production site, which has been rebranded as a national wildlife refuge," the statement read.
For almost four decades, the Rocky Flats plant used a "massive amount" radioactive and toxic materials to manufacture plutonium triggers for US nuclear weapons, but the facility was shut down in 1989 after a Federal Bureau of Investigation raid for environmental crimes.
The former operator of the facility, Rockwell International Corporation, accepted a plea agreement for criminal violations of environmental law and was handed a $18.5 million fine in 1992.
$7 billion clean-up
A 10-year-long clean-up costing over $7 billion ended in 2005, with the company responsible for the project, Kaiser-Hill Co., saying at the time that they were proud to have completed "the largest, most complex clean-up project in United States history".
During the clean-up, over 21 tons of weapons-usable nuclear material were removed from the site, with 2,000 truckloads of waste being taken to a repository in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and 1,900 containers of plutonium being taken to the Savannah River nuclear weapons installation in South Carolina.
However, according to the statement released by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, "many public health advocates, community safety activists and independent scientists have argued that the site was not sufficiently cleaned up before being labelled a national wildlife refuge".
"Due to these concerns, seven local school districts have barred children in their care from taking field trips to Rocky Flats. More recently, several municipalities, including Broomfield, Lyons, Superior and Westminster, withdrew their support from a proposed Greenway Trail that is supposed to run across the site," the press release continued.
Christopher Allred from the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, a leader of the campaign for warning signage around Rocky Flats, praised the municipal decisions.
"After decades of advocacy from the state to the municipal and county levels, we finally will have strong warnings posted around Rocky Flats," he said. "We appreciate these important steps by the Boulder County Commission and Westminster City Council to bring more transparency and public health protections to the region. It is time for other communities bordering Rocky Flats to follow suit."
Dr. Deborah Segaloff from Physicians for Social Responsibility Colorado, which also played a major role in the campaign for warning signs, added: “As an organisation of health professionals that has educated the public about the dangers from exposure to plutonium, we commend Boulder County and Westminster officials for prioritising public health by installing warning signage at Rocky Flats."
