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. [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. American bison are reintroduced to the site that same year as part of a nationwide conservation effort. 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. To learn more and view artifacts from each period, visit the Refuge Visitor Center. Take the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Self-Guided Wildlife Drive This was the highlight of the park for us. Opinion: Colorado farms going fallow? independent local journalism in Denver. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal manufactured chemical weapons including mustard gas, napalm, white phosphorus, lewisite, chlorine gas, and sarin. 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. Fish and Wildlife Service, Walter Derr, The Associated Press. text only version of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Site Spotlight, Emerging Contaminants and Contaminants of Concern, Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket, Military Munitions and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO). Many of the conversions came after the first and second world wars. 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 2010, the cleanup was considered complete, and the remaining portions of land were transferred to the U.S. Mitchell first started writing the Cold Case blog in Fall 2007, in part because Colorado has more than 1,400 unsolved homicides. Spills occurred in the central processing areas, storage areas, and out of chemical sewers that existed underground. Only one, on July 15, caused minor damage at Commerce City. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. 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. 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. The deep injection well was closed in 1985 and Basin F was closed in 1988 [10] CERCLA also gave the Federal government the authority to respond to the release of life-threatening hazardous materials.[2]. 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. Treatment plants remove contaminants from groundwater to keep them out of domestic wells. All surface work related to the environmental cleanup ended in 2010, one year ahead of schedule and within budget. The contamination of the underlying alluvial aquifer occurred due to the discharge of waste into unlined basins. The U.S. Army later reactivated Arsenal facilities for Cold-War weapons production and demilitarization. Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge was established in 2004, in part, to protect our national symbol, the bald eagle. Between 1946 and 1987, the Army also leased portions of the arsenal to Shell Oil Company to manufacture pesticides. The On-Post Record of Decision was signed in June 1996 and describes the cleanup plan for soils, groundwater and structures within the approximately 27-square-mile on-post Operable Unit. Colorado health officials contendthat Shells trenches and slurry walls have not prevented pesticides and other dangerous chemicals from leaching into the groundwater. As provided by CERCLA, a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) was conducted to determine the extent of contamination. Its location was selected because it is far from the coast and it has sufficient labor force. The Arsenal also played a role in Americas space exploration by manufacturing the rocket fuel used to power the Apollo 11 flights. Two early morning shocks occurred November 14. Both those cases are pending in federal court. 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. Photos source: US Fish and Wildlife Service Critics sayRocky Mountain Arsenalin Colorado illustrates the shortcomings of a cleanup designed to be good enough for a refuge but not for human habitation. 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. If agency officials believed the sites were unsafe for the public, he said, they would not work there. 1973The Vietnam Conflict ends, and demilitarization becomes the primary focus of the RMA. An official website of the United States government, Rocky Mountain Arsenal has recently published its annual community report. EPA and the State concurred with the approach. This is unprecedented: Avian flu has killed 12,000 birds in Colorado, Smart sensors on I-25 promise really significant traffic improvements, pilot study shows, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Denver just got a direct flight to this Caribbean island known for music history and vegetarian cooking, Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, Multiple Colorado schools temporarily placed under secure status due to threats, Denver East High student dies more than two weeks after being shot outside school, Letters: Proposed age limit for gun ownership in Colorado doesn't make sense. Depleted uranium fragments are scattered on the firing range among 1.5 million rounds of unexploded shells, which makes cleanup dangerous and expensive. Many of the surrounding neighborhoods have been provided with potable tap water from other areas of Adams county because of the potential effects of contaminated groundwater from wells. 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 purpose of this Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan is to document the State Trustees' basis for conducting the damage assessment that provided the basis of the lawsuit and to set forth the proposed approaches for quantifying harm to natural resources and calculating the damages associated with those injuries. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal, located ten minutes outside of downtown Denver, Colorado, offers one of the most unique urban wildlife refuges in the country. At least 30 of the 560-plusrefugesmanaged by the wildlife service have some history with the military or weapons production, the AP found. 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. 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. Shell Oil Co. leased the property and manufactured agricultural pesticides in the South Plants complex from 1952 through 1982. That said, it would be better if they were cleaned up more thoroughly.. Thousands of ducks died after coming in contact with its wastewater ponds in the 1950s. Early 1980sAll production at the RMA ceases, and the mission shifts to environmental remediation and restoration. In 1985 the Army permanently sealed the disposal well in stages. Further, in 1961, the Army constructed a 12,000-foot deep injection well for the disposal of wastes. 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. The arsenal's animals are intended to refresh bloodlines of the national park's herd, Rocky Mountain Arsenal Refuge Manager David Lucas told CBS4. 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. Rated magnitude 1.5, it was not strong enough to be felt by area residents. After a $2.1 billion cleanup, the site was reborn as Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, with 24 square miles (61 square kilometers) of idyllic prairie where visitors can take scenic drives or hikes. This soil is contained in hazardous waste landfills. 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. All manufacturing activities ended in 1982. 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. 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.. This public availability will be implemented while simultaneously supporting the remediation effort and the USFWS activities. Current Basin F liquid consists of very salty water that includes some metals, chlorides, wastewater and toxic organics. In the early 1980s the site was selected as a Superfund site and the cleanup process began. An acoustical ceiling and light fixtures fell at one school. 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