A similar shock, magnitude 4.1, centered in the Denver area November 15. Here's the history of the Arsenal quakes from the USGS site: It was 32 minutes after 4 a.m. on April 24 when the first shock of the Denver series was recorded at the Cecil H. Green Geophysical Observatory at Bergen Park, Colorado. Both the landfills and the covers are built to prevent intrusion by humans or animals, and also to prevent further contamination to the groundwater. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Shell Oil for failure to obtain a proper-post closure permit for Basin F, a section of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. State health officials are asking the federal courts to intervene to stop the contamination on the north and northwest boundaries of the trenches. The cleanup was completed in 2010 and five large parcels of land have been deleted from the NPL . 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. Following the war and through the early 1980s, the facilities continued to be used by the Army. An acoustical ceiling and light fixtures fell at one school. Soldiers test-fired millions of artillery rounds at the proving ground, some made of depleted uranium. 2007The EPA honors the RMA with its national Land Revitalization Award. 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. Shell Oil Co. leased the property and manufactured agricultural pesticides in the South Plants complex from 1952 through 1982. 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. From 1950 to 1952, the Army constructed the North Plants complex to manufacture the nerve agents VX and GB, (also called sarin). The deep injection well was closed in 1985 and Basin F was closed in 1988 [10] 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. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a manufacturing center of United States chemical weapons, is located in Commerce City, Colorado. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment established monitoring systems throughout various locations of the RMA. But forty years ago, a series of quakes rocked the Denver area -- quakes caused not by Mother Nature, but by Uncle Sam. By the end of December 1962, 190 earthquakes had occurred. By year end, the United States has out-produced the Axis Powers by 150 percent. Starting in 1942, the U.S. Army used the 27-mile site for the manufacture, assembly, and disposal . (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. SITE HISTORY - Rocky Mountain Arsenal was listed on the NPL in 1987. 1989The U.S. 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. Take the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Self-Guided Wildlife Drive This was the highlight of the park for us. Several reported basement floors separated from walls. Minor damage, in the form of broken windows and dishes and cracked walls and plaster, occurred at Aguilar, Segundo, Trinchera, and Trinidad. Join the Westword community and help support 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. Rocket fuel was blended on-site for the Titan and Delta missile operations. Trace amounts of the chemical 1,4-dioxane has been found in some samples of drinking water. (9 of 9). To learn more and view artifacts from each period, visit the Refuge Visitor Center. At least 30 of the 560-plusrefugesmanaged by the wildlife service have some history with the military or weapons production, the AP found. Baseline rates of congenital anomalies in the study area compared to Colorado as a whole did not show significant differences between populations. Share Them by March 3. Heavy volatile contaminants related to Basin F raised concern among the public for the site and the process of the clean-up itself of the Arsenal and a medical monitoring program (MMP) was put in place as part of the Record of Decision (ROD) between the U.S. Army, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment in 1996. The shock shuffled furniture around in homes, and left electrical wall outlets hanging by their wires at Irondale. A civic center, high school, soccer complexand public open space are also located here. Longstanding agricultural and health concerns related to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal have resulted in a complex history of political and legal battles. 1943RMA employees work around the clock to manufacture mustard gas, Lewisite, chlorine gas and incendiary weapons. 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 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. RMA contained a deep injection well that was constructed in 1961. [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. Photo source: Denver Post 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. 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. However, the Army estimates that the waste was a more dilute version of the Basin F liquid which is now being incinerated. In 1975, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ordered the Army and Shell to stop the non-permitted discharge of contaminants, to control the contaminated groundwater leaving the site, and to implement a monitoring plan. [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. Office of Public Health Practice, Planning, and Local Partnerships, Chemicals from firefighting foam & other sources, Colorado Legacy Land/Lincoln Park Superfund site, Test & Fix Water for Kids at Family Child Care Homes, Toxicology and environmental epidemiology, Engage with the Water Quality Control Division, Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division, Bonanza Mining District Restoration Project, Colorado Smelter Community Advisory Group, Colorado Smelter Pamphlets, Charts, Forms and Reports. The well remained unused for nearly 20 years. In 2004, 5000 acres along the perimeter of the site were deleted from the National Priorities List of Superfund sites to establish the National Wildlife Refuge. 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. The settlement amount totaled $27.4 millionand is to be used for natural resources restoration projects in the South Platte River area. Recent tests have confirmed that the contamination continues to this day, it says. The injected fluids had very little potential for reaching the surface or usable groundwater supply since the injection point had 11,900 feet (3630 m) of rock above it and was sealed at the opening. Rocky Mountain Arsenal. The Arsenal also played a role in Americas space exploration by manufacturing the rocket fuel used to power the Apollo 11 flights. Rocky Mountain Arsenal, which was once a U.S. Army chemical weapons manufacturing facility, became a wildlife refuge in 1992. Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (credit: CBS) Nick Kaczor and his team were also out -- trying to find the black footed ferrets. The U.S. During removal of contaminated soil and construction of the remedy containment structures, air monitoring was conducted at multiple sites in the Arsenals interior and fence line, and several sites in the surrounding communities. [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. 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. 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. Boulder sustained minor damage to walls and acoustical tile ceilings on April 27, 1967, as result of a magnitude 4.4 earthquake. biological agent at Rocky Mountain Arsenal was begun in August 1971 and was completed in mid-February 1973. Exchanging animals among smaller herds. 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. Residents were generally shaken, but no damage was sustained. Keeping our congressional leaders . That said, it would be better if they were cleaned up more thoroughly.. [20] In the case of Rocky Mountain Arsenal, total indirect cost was not estimated at all. A $7 billion cleanup concentrated on 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) where workers assembled plutonium triggers for nuclear warheads, and that area is fenced and closed to the public. local news and culture, Patricia Calhoun 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. In September 2017, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sued the U.S. Army, U.S. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 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. A volume of approximately 52,500 acre-feet (65 million cubic metres) of the alluvial aquifer is not usable for human consumption. 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. They have been left in place to excavate, so they have been left in place. 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. For more information please visit U.S. Both those cases are pending in federal court. Slighter rumblings (below magnitude 3.0) occurred throughout the remainder of 1966, and through the first week of April 1967. Many slight shocks occurred near the well during this period. Some waste disposal pits presented short-term hazards sufficient to preclude their excavation. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA) is a former chemical weapons manufacturing facility located just outside and northwest of the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area (Figure 21). Not for the "stupid price" of $150 an acre foot. Fish and Wildlife Service establishes a field office at the RMA to manage bald eagles and other wildlife. selected for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal includes the removal of contaminated soil down to 10 over much of the contaminated area, and that contaminated overburden is contained in two hazardous waste landfills that remain on the site. The contaminated soils cleanup phase of the process was completed in 2010. 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. Please click here to see any active alerts. 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. There is an 11-mile motor tour that takes you through the preserve. Last week, on December 8, 2015, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal rounded up the bison herd to gather animals that had been selected for donation to the Crane Trust--a bison conservation . During November 1967, the Denver region was shaken by five moderate earthquakes. Researchers have not examined the health risks to wildlife at the cleaned-up refuges as extensively as the potential danger to humans, but few problems have been reported. 1966Following reports of localized earthquake tremors, the U.S. Army concludes the deep well injection program. This public availability will be implemented while simultaneously supporting the remediation effort and the USFWS activities. The facility was built in 1942, in response to the outbreak of World War II in Europe. Most handled conventional weapons, not nuclear or chemical. 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. Several were felt, but none caused damage until the window breaker that surprised Dupont and Irondale on the night of December 4. Otherkey partners include Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, the local health department andlocal government officials, the Army,U.S. 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. 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. Catch . In the early 1980s the site was selected as a Superfund site and the cleanup process began. At Commerce City merchandise fell in several supermarkets and walls cracked in larger buildings. After the war, it became a bustling center of industrial. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is 15,000 acres and features three lakes that are home to over 300 species of wildlife. The site was operated by the United States Army throughout the later 20th century and was controversial among local residents until its closure in 1992. In response, the Army constructed an asphalt-lined impoundment for the disposal of wastes in 1956. The contamination of the underlying alluvial aquifer occurred due to the discharge of waste into unlined basins. 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. As provided by CERCLA, a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) was conducted to determine the extent of contamination. The military closed the sites to keep people safe from the dangerous work that went on there, not to save the environment, said Havlick of the University of Colorado. The cleanup of the refuge's 15,000 acres was completed in 2010. In September 2017, the state of Colorado filed a lawsuit to sue the United States government for the right to control the contaminated areas of the RMA. The Army told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission it could cost $3.2 billion to clean the area for unrestricted use. For testing purposes, the well was injected with approximately 568,000 gallons of city water prior to injecting any waste. In an effort to foster economic growth in the area and maintain the facilities for national security, private companies were encouraged to lease facilities beginning in the mid-1940s. Fish and Wildlife Service management, and they now protect black bears and black-footed ferrets, coral reefs and brushy steppes, rare birds and imperiled salmon. 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