Depleted uranium fragments are scattered on the firing range among 1.5 million rounds of unexploded shells, which makes cleanup dangerous and expensive. 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. Shell Oil Co. leased the property and manufactured agricultural pesticides in the South Plants complex from 1952 through 1982. More recently, it has been used as a storage facility for excess office furniture and equipment. Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge was established in 2004, in part, to protect our national symbol, the bald eagle. Two early morning shocks occurred November 14. (4 of 9), CREATION OF WILDLIFE REFUGE In the 1980s a roost of bald eagles, which were then on the Endangered Species List, was discovered. Many residents reported it was the strongest earthquake they had ever experienced. Following the war and through the early 1980s, the facilities continued to be used by the Army. A volume of approximately 52,500 acre-feet (65 million cubic metres) of the alluvial aquifer is not usable for human consumption. The Army was dumping dangerous chemicals into a deep injection well out at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. In 1996, after a lengthy process in which site investigations were conducted and completed, an approach to remedy the chemical contamination at the Arsenal was set forth by the US Army. These field activities began in the fall of 1997 and significant portions of the cleanup have already been accomplished. Both those cases are pending in federal court. 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. The land has a unique story - it has survived the test of time and transitioned from farmland, to war-time manufacturing site, to wildlife sanctuary. Marshall fire victims protested green building codes as too expensive. (8 of 9), "The Refuge and adjacent property represent a public-private partnership done right," said Mayor Sean Ford. The U.S. Army selected 17,000 acres of farm land just 10 miles northeast of Denver in Commerce City, Colorado, as the site of the new Arsenal. There is an 11-mile motor tour that takes you through the preserve. But the cost of the conversions is staggering, and some critics say the sites have not been scrubbed well enough of pollutants to make them safe for humans. In its own account of the cleanup at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, the Army web site offers this explanation: The Rocky Mountain Arsenal deep injection well was constructed in 1961, and was drilled to a depth of 12,045 feet. One of the major lessees, Shell Oil Company, along with Julius Hyman and Company and Colorado Fuel and Iron, had manufacturing and processing capabilities on RMA between 1952 and 1982. Houses creaked and objects rattled during this magnitude 2.1 earthquake. To learn more and view artifacts from each period, visit the Refuge Visitor Center. and help keep the future of Westword, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, Denver boot puts the lock on the Global Business Travel Association bash. Some waste disposal pits presented short-term hazards sufficient to preclude their excavation. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was created out of farmland on the eastern edge of metro Denver during World War II to arm the U.S. Army. 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. Extremely loud, explosivelike earth noises were heard. 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 Rocky Mountain Greenway Trail Open: Year-round to hiking, bicycles, and Class 1 e-Bikes Length: 4.8 miles This regional trail corridor will link Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge with Two Ponds and Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuges, along with many other protected open space and park lands throughout the Denver metro-area. 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. 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. Fish and Wildlife Service inventoried more than 330 species of wildlife that inhabit the Arsenal including deer, coyotes, white pelicans and owls. [1], The environmental movement began in the United States in the 1960-1970s. The Surveillance for Birth Defects utilized passive observational data from an existing birth defects registry March 1989 March 2009. A monitoring program was developed to monitor the success of exposure prevention efforts during the environmental cleanup at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Archives: Project Descriptions / Fact Sheets, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. The well was cased and sealed to a depth of 11,975 feet (3650 m), with the remaining 70 feet (21 m) left as an open hole for the injection of Basin F liquids. Known today as an urban national wildlife refuge, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal traces its beginnings to the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the United States into World War II.. An official website of the United States government. [18] While it is difficult to capture the societal cost to clean up the site, the list of actions dealing with groundwater contamination listed by Mears and Heise include: Direct economic totals add up to approximately $111 million and this estimation does not include operation and maintenance costs. First, the well casing was tested to evaluate its integrity. Now a majority are voluntarily adopting them. 1995-1996Following extensive community input, the Off-Post and On-Post Records of Decision (ROD) are signed. After the war, it became a bustling center of industrial activity -- a top-secret center that created a lot of dangerous waste. Other demographics of the mother were gathered as well. Weapons manufactured at RMA included both conventional and chemical munitions, including white phosphorus (M34 grenade), napalm, mustard gas, lewisite, and chlorine gas. Roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown Denver, the arsenal was once an environmental nightmare where chemical weapons and commercial pesticides were made. The injected fluids had very little potential for reaching the surface or useable groundwater supply since the injection point had 11,900 feet of rock above it and was sealed at the opening. All surface work related to the environmental cleanup ended in 2010, one year ahead of schedule and within budget. Throughout the decades of cleanup, the air monitors revealed there was no safety hazard to public health as no arsenal chemicals had been released into the air. Also, they noted that if all groundwater were to be cleared for human consumption, the cost would be $500 million annually. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was placed on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites in July 1987. 2010All surface environmental cleanup work concludes. It cited seven violations. Current Basin F liquid consists of very salty water that includes some metals, chlorides, wastewater and toxic organics. Finally, the Act provides for the transfer of some Arsenal land for road expansion around the perimeter of the Arsenal and 915 acres (3.70km2) to be sold for development and annexation by Commerce City. [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. The U.S government acquired the Arsenal land in 1942 to manufacture chemical warfare agents, including mustard gas and incendiary munitions, for use in World War II. Structures that contain the contaminated soil at RMA are also actively monitored, along with surface water and biological resources. The primary contaminants include organochloride pesticides, organophosphate pesticides, carbamate insecticides, organic solvents and feedstock chemicals used as raw products or intermediates in the manufacturing process (e.g., chlorinated benzenes), heavy metals, chemical warfare material and their related breakdown products and biological warfare agent such as TX. August 24, 2011 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. 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. In September 2017, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sued the U.S. Army, U.S. Contaminated areas of soil remain in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, but are contained in basins and containment structures.[11]. Then, on April 10, the largest since the series began in 1962 occurred; 118 windowpanes were broken in buildings at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a crack in an asphalt parking lot was noted in the Derby area, and schools were dismissed in Boulder, where walls sustained cracks. 1969Powered by rocket fuel propellant manufactured at the RMA, Apollo 11 lands on the moon. 24,590 were here. It was felt at Laramie, Wyoming, to the northwest, east to Goodland, Kansas, and south to Pueblo, Colorado. Most skeptics agree the refuges are worthwhile but warn that the natural beauty might obscure the environmental damage wreaked nearby. Photos source: US Fish and Wildlife Service 2007The EPA honors the RMA with its national Land Revitalization Award. Only one, on July 15, caused minor damage at Commerce City. Last Conditions Report for Rocky Mountain Arsenal: 11.15.21. Contaminants included solvents, metals, pesticides, and miscellaneous manufacturing-related chemicals. CERCLA also gave the Federal government the authority to respond to the release of life-threatening hazardous materials.[2]. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a field office at the RMA to help manage the abundant wildlife. 1942The U.S. Army establishes the Rocky Mountain Arsenal to produce chemical weapons as a war-time deterrent. It was also helpful that the location was close to Stapleton airfield, a major transportation hub.[5]. 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. The end result was approximately 165 million gallons of Basin F liquid waste being injected into the well during the period from 1962 through 1966. An official website of the United States government, Rocky Mountain Arsenal has recently published its annual community report. Kauffman violated state order to stop selling its oil and gas, Colorados air pollution permitting process for oil and gas, other industries may get a lot stricter, (720) 263-2338 Call, text, Signal or WhatsApp, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. 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. Rocket fuel to support Air Force operations was also manufactured and stored at RMA. Please direct your comments and questions to: Rocky Mountain Arsenal, 7270 Kingston Parkway, Building 129, Commerce City, CO 80222 or by email to: Patty.l.lee6.civ@army.mil Annual Monitoring Reports In cooperation with federal, state and local regulatory agencies, the U.S. Army maintains and monitors the remedy to ensure its ongoing protectiveness. The Army discontinued use of the well in Feb. 1966 because of the possibility that the fluid injection was triggering earthquakes in the area. (7 of 9), BENEFIT - Cleanup of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal has bolstered the economy of the greater Denver metro area and provides its neighbors with jobs, recreation, and a peaceful escape to nature. 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. RMA contained a deep injection well that was constructed in 1961. CERCLA was a tax imposed on chemical and petroleum industries. In 1982, all production at the site stopped, and the Arsenals mission changed to environmental cleanup and restoration. Organochlorine pesticides, heavy metals, agent degradation products and manufacturing by-products, and chlorinated and aromatic solvents are getting into groundwater in unsafe levels, it says. An official website of the United States government. [8][9] The well remained unused until 1985 when the Army permanently sealed the disposal well. 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. In the early 1960s, the U.S. Army began to lease out its facilities to private companies to manufacture pesticides. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment established monitoring systems throughout various locations of the RMA. In 2006, 7,126 additional acres were transferred. Its radiation isnt strong enough to be dangerous outside the body, but its dust is a serious health risk if inhaled or swallowed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal manufactured chemical weapons including mustard gas, napalm, white phosphorus, lewisite, chlorine gas, and sarin. More by The Associated Press, Got a story tip? 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. Between 1946 and 1987, the Army also leased portions of the arsenal to Shell Oil Company to manufacture pesticides. 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. By year end, the United States has out-produced the Axis Powers by 150 percent. Many slight shocks occurred near the well during this period. 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