Spills occurred in the central processing areas, storage areas, and out of chemical sewers that existed underground. This was further exacerbated when the U.S. Army discovered an endangered species, the bald eagle. The Army was dumping dangerous chemicals into a deep injection well out at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. For testing purposes, the well was injected with approximately 568,000 US gallons (2150 m) of city water prior to injecting any waste. 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South Denver, CO 80246, Colorado Health Information Data Set (CoHID), Office of Public Health Practice, Planning, and Local Partnerships (OPHP), Air Quality - Monitoring, Modeling and Data. However, when the Basin F liquids were actually introduced, the process required more time than anticipated to complete because of the impermeability of the rock. According to National Resource Damage Assessment, although the contamination has been reduced by the treatment efforts, the water in and around the arsenal may never be fully clean. As production declined at wars end, the U.S. Army leased some of the facilities to private companies, one of which Shell Oil Co. purchased, for the production of agricultural chemicals. Groundwater treatment will continue until all water leaving the site meets state and federal standards. In September of that year, the Army began removing fluid from the Arsenal well at a very slow rate, in hope that earthquake activity would lessen. [citation needed] An official website of the United States government. State officials say they want long-term and legally binding assurances. 1942The U.S. Army establishes the Rocky Mountain Arsenal to produce chemical weapons as a war-time deterrent. North of the former Stapleton Airport and west of Denver International Airport, Adams County. Beginning in 1942, the Army used the 27-square-mile arsenal at 5650 Gateway Road in Commerce City for the manufacture and disposal of chemical warfare agents, and chemical and incendiary munitions. 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. Opinion: Colorado farms going fallow? They have been left in place to excavate, so they have been left in place. Residents may see flames, too, but are asked to not call 911 for this reason. Slighter rumblings (below magnitude 3.0) occurred throughout the remainder of 1966, and through the first week of April 1967. The second largest earthquake in the Denver series occurred on November 26, 1967. In summary, there is no current evidence of health effects. Many residents reported it was the strongest earthquake they had ever experienced. Photo source:CBS Denver I think theres a case to be made that just leaving it in place really maintains an unacceptable risk of contamination spreading from the site, he said. Share Them by March 3. Annual Highlights from Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Rocky Mountain Arsenal has recently published its annual community report. Fish and Wildlife's Rocky Mountain Arsenal website. Despite yesterday's earthquake that hit the Trinidad region, "Colorado is considered a region of minor earthquake activity," according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Damage on a lesser scale occurred throughout the area. Thousands of ducks died after coming in contact with its wastewater ponds in the 1950s. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment established monitoring systems throughout various locations of the RMA. Congruent with the outline of the June 1996 USFWS Comprehensive Management Plan, RMA will be available for public use through both community outreach and educational programs (as provided by the Visitor Access Plan and the USFWS). Early 1980sAll production at the RMA ceases, and the mission shifts to environmental remediation and restoration. In the early 1960s, the U.S. Army began to lease out its facilities to private companies to manufacture pesticides. Conditions reports for this lake are available when logged in. The Army and Shell operated Basin F, a hazardous waste surface impoundment for the storage and treatment of liquid and solid hazardous wastes, but the facility leaked wastes into the environment after waste disposal ended in 1981, the lawsuit says. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II, the U.S. Army began looking for land to create a chemical manufacturing center. Restrictions on well water use, residential development, consumption of fish and game from the arsenal, and agricultural use of the arsenal will exist in perpetuity until further scientific research is completed at the site. Theyre not going to want to be in a place with chemical pollution or radiation problems., Email: newsroom@coloradosun.com [3] After the bald eagles were captured, tested, and found to be healthy, the National Wildlife Federation worked with policymakers to transition RMA to a wildlife refuge. The Army discontinued use of the well in February 1966 because the fluid injection triggered a series of earthquakes in the area. An astonishing array of animals and habitats flourished on six obsolete weapons complexes mostly for nuclear or chemical arms because the sites banned the public and other intrusions for decades, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), In this Oct. 13, 2005, file photo, deer cross a road striped of its asphalt at the former Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant near Golden, Colo. (Ed Andrieski, AP File photo), How Denver is spending the $41M from the Broncos sale, Three members of Colorados congressional delegation seek $60 billion to reduce wildfire risk, restore Western land, Troubled K.P. During 1968, ten slight shocks were felt in Colorado. Join the Westword community and help support In addition, contamination affects public health and nature (honeybee poisonings, pesticide resistance in pests, destruction of natural predators, wild birds, microbes) negatively. A. Dietrich f. h,_ During the 1968 pumping tests at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal disposal well, the U.S. Geological Survey was responsible for moni wring earthquakes occurring in the area of the arsenal ami making chemical analysis of the fluids removed. 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. 1973The Vietnam Conflict ends, and demilitarization becomes the primary focus of the RMA. Despite the complicated and expensive cleanups, significant contamination has been left behind, some experts say. Mitchell first started writing the Cold Case blog in Fall 2007, in part because Colorado has more than 1,400 unsolved homicides. At that time, liquid waste disposal methods were employed in an attempt to prevent the chemical contamination from spreading further including lining one of the basins with asphalt, and injection of the waste chemicals into a deep well, but these techniques were ultimately unsuccessful. Rocket fuel was blended on-site for the Titan and Delta missile operations. CERCLA was a tax imposed on chemical and petroleum industries. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Solid and liquid chemical hazardous wastes were disposed of in trenches, burn pits and pooled in open basins covering wide areas. In 1986, it was discovered that the absence of human activity had made the area an involuntary park when a winter communal roost of bald eagles, then an endangered species, was discovered on site. 2010All surface environmental cleanup work concludes. Many mammals and birds were found dead and may have suffered lower reproduction rates or birth defects.[11]. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a field office at the RMA to help manage the abundant wildlife. 1943RMA employees work around the clock to manufacture mustard gas, Lewisite, chlorine gas and incendiary weapons. 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. During the development of the remedy for the Arsenals contamination, there was a lot of public concern that the cleanup itself might pose a risk to the surrounding residents. Waste further down than 10 is left in place in the former areas where the basins, chemical sewers, manufacturing plants, disposal trenches once were. Keeping our congressional leaders . Additionally, some of this land was used for a prisoner of war camp (for Germancombatants) and later transferred to the city of Denver as Stapleton Airport expanded. The history of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge stretches back more than 60 years. Two sites were retained by the Army: the South Plants location due to historical use[clarification needed], and the North Plant location, which is now a landfill containing the remains of various buildings used in the plants. 2015Black-footed ferrets are reintroduced at the Refuge as part of a nationwide recovery program for the endangered species. CERCLA also gave the Federal government the authority to respond to the release of life-threatening hazardous materials.[2]. EPA and the State concurred with the approach. A volume of approximately 52,500 acre-feet (65 million cubic metres) of the alluvial aquifer is not usable for human consumption. The 17,000-acre site is 10 miles northeast of Denver. The well remained unused for nearly 20 years. Brighton is 6 miles north, and Barr Lake State Park is about 5 miles northeast. Photos source: US Fish and Wildlife Service A local shock awakened a few persons in Commerce City November 25. They awakened many residents, but were not widely felt. It was felt at Laramie, Wyoming, to the northwest, east to Goodland, Kansas, and south to Pueblo, Colorado. An astonishing array of animals and habitats flourished onsix obsolete weapons complexes mostly for nuclear or chemical arms because the sites banned the public and other intrusions for decades. For testing purposes, the well was injected with approximately 568,000 gallons of city water prior to injecting any waste. In response, the Army constructed an asphalt-lined impoundment for the disposal of wastes in 1956. Converting a heavily polluted weapons complex into a wildlife refuge is cheaper than making it safe for homes, schools and businesses, said Adam Rome, who teaches environmental history at the State University of New York at Buffalo. 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. [11] Air quality monitoring of the Arsenal began concurrently with the decontamination process in 1997 and surveillance continued until July 2009. Rocky Mountain Arsenal, which was once a U.S. Army chemical weapons manufacturing facility, became a wildlife refuge in 1992. The location was ideal, not only because of the proximity to the airport, but because of the geographic features of the site, it was less likely to be attacked. the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Disposal Well By D. B. Hoover and J. Next, the injection zone at the bottom 70 feet of the well was closed by plugging with cement. Three criteria were es Birth defects included in the analysis were: "total congenital anomalies, major congenital anomalies, heart defects, muscle and skeletal defects, and kidney and bladder defects," and these categories were inconsistent in reporting accuracy. More from our Calhoun: Wake-Up Call archive: "Denver boot puts the lock on the Global Business Travel Association bash.". In addition to the containment structures, the agreed-upon remedy directs that the entire area is subject to restrictions on land use in perpetuity, including residential development, agricultural use, any potable use of the groundwater, and any consumption of fish or game from the Arsenal. There is an 11-mile motor tour that takes you through the preserve. To learn more and view artifacts from each period, visit the Refuge Visitor Center. Today, the Refuge encompasses more than 15,000 acres of restored shortgrass prairie and provides habitat to more 300 species of wildlife, including American bison, bald eagles, mule and white-tailed deer, burrowing owls and black-footed ferrets. The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state our community can better understand itself. Site reviews will be conducted every five years to make sure the cleanup remedy is still effective. The Colorado departments Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver to force the Army to comply with standards set by the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is 15,000 acres and features three lakes that are home to over 300 species of wildlife. 1989The U.S. "Without the support of multiple federal agencies including the EPA Commerce City would have not been able to leverage a remediated property into a true community asset." Two early morning shocks occurred November 14. August 24, 2011 It was estimated by the U.S. However, the Army estimates that the waste was a more dilute version of the Basin F liquid which is now being incinerated. (6 of 9), TOURISM - Nearly 500,000 people annually visit the 15,000-acre Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge where they can see more than 330 species of animals including bison, deer, bald eagles and black-footed ferrets. For questions about Refuge programs and conservation efforts, please contact the U.S. From 1943 to 1956, the US Army and Shell discharged wastes into the unlined basins resulting in the contamination of the South Platte River outside the Arsenal. 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 . Kirk Mitchell is a general assignment reporter at The Denver Post who focuses on criminal justice stories. Structures that contain the contaminated soil at RMA are also actively monitored, along with surface water and biological resources. Known today as an urban national wildlife refuge, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal is one of the most studied environmental cleanup sites in the country. The U.S. Minor damage, in the form of broken windows and dishes and cracked walls and plaster, occurred at Aguilar, Segundo, Trinchera, and Trinidad. This led the State of Colorado to take legal action over who has legal authority over RMA remediation efforts, payment of natural resource damages (NRDs), and reimbursement of costs expended for cleanup activities (response costs). (3 of 9), REDEVELOPMENT - Commerce City, CO a northern suburb of Denver,and a sports enterprise business have invested more than $120 million in the property, which yields 1.7 million visitors annually. At least 30 of the 560-plusrefugesmanaged by the wildlife service have some history with the military or weapons production, the AP found. Because of the Superfund site status and the dramatic cleanups, many residents in neighborhoods surrounding the RMA voiced concern about ongoing health risks of living within the close vicinity of the site. [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. If you have additional questions, please call 303.289.0300. Become a member to support the independent voice of Denver Depleted uranium, a byproduct of nuclear fuel production, is used for armor-piercing shells. Replacement water for South Adams County Water and Sanitation District. In September 2010, the cleanup was considered complete, and the remaining portions of land were transferred to the U.S. (1 of 9), SITE HISTORY - Rocky Mountain Arsenal was listed on the NPL in 1987. Mallard carcasses found to have higher levels of Dieldrin. Weapons manufactured at RMA included both conventional and chemical munitions, including white phosphorus (M34 grenade), napalm, mustard gas, lewisite, and chlorine gas. The refuge was created on the buffer zone surrounding the production area. 2003The EPA removes 917 acres of RMA land from the National Priorities List. Three shocks in 1965 -- February 16, September 29, and November 20 -- caused intensity VI damage in Commerce City and environs. 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