Region 8
Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 27 Tribal Nations
Superfund Program
National Information
Regional Information
Site Information
National Priorities List (NPL) History
Proposed Date
7/14/1989
Final Date
11/21/1989
Rocky Flats Plant (USDOE)
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Site Type: Completed NPL City: Golden County: Jefferson EPA ID#: CO 7890010526 Site ID#: Congressional District: 2nd |
Site Status & Updates
The Environmental Protection Agency on May 25, 2007 announced the deletion of 25,423 acres of the Rocky Flats site in Jefferson and Boulder Counties of Colorado from the National Priorities List. (the "NPL"). This deletion reflects the completion of all response actions for the offsite and peripheral parcels and will allow the U.S. Department of Energy (the "DOE") to transfer part of the site to the U.S. Department of the Interior (the "DOI") for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage as a National Wildlife Refuge.
Areas affected by the deletion include the 4,933-acre Peripheral Operable Unit and the 20,480-acre Operable Unit 3 (the "OU"). The Peripheral OU (formerly known as the Buffer Zone) was part of the former DOE Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant. That parcel will be transferred from DOE to DOI to become the wildlife refuge. OU3 (also known as the off-site areas) consists of open space, residential development and agricultural lands. A 1997 Record of Decision (the "ROD") for OU 3 and a 2006 ROD for the Peripheral OU determined that all appropriate response actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act have been implemented in these areas, and that no further response action b responsible parties is appropriate.
The state of Colorado, through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (the "CDPHE"), concurs with the deletion. DOE will be responsible for all future response actions required at the area deleted if future site conditions warrant such actions.
The 1,308-acre Central OU at Rocky Flats is not being considered for deletion and will remain on the NPL.
Site Description
Beginning in 1952 and continuing for nearly 40 years, the U.S. government manufactured nuclear weapons components from plutonium, uranium, beryllium and stainless steel at Rocky Flats in Colorado.
Rocky Flats shut its operations in 1989 in response to alleged violations of environmental statutes that were made after a raid by the FBI and the EPA. In 1992, with the end of the "Cold War," the U.S. decided not to resume production of nuclear weapons parts at Rocky Flats.
The Rocky Flats site -- which DOE renamed the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site -- is located on 6,500 acres in Jefferson County, 16 miles northwest of downtown Denver. Approximately 300,000 people live within 10 miles of Rocky Flats.
Operators conducted all manufacturing activities in a 300-acre area at the center of the site, known as the Industrial Area. The surrounding property is referred to as the Buffer Zone.
At one time the site stored more than 14 tons of plutonium, which was the second-largest repository of the element in the U.S. A significant amount of the plutonium was in liquid form, contained in deteriorating piping systems. However, those liquids have been drained from the piping, stabilized, and shipped to a licensed repository.
Leaking storage drums, unlined disposal trenches, surface-water impoundments, leaky pipelines, leaky underground tanks, and two on-site landfills all contributed to the contamination of soils and ground water at the site.
Volatile organic compounds (the "VOC") contaminated shallow ground water in the central section of the site. The radioactive elements plutonium, uranium and americium contaminated soil in the central and eastern portions of the site; the most contaminated soils were located on the eastern edge of the industrial area. The potential for radionuclides (radioactive particles) to become airborne during strong winds has been a concern as has the potential for plutonium in soils to be washed into the two streams that flow on either side of the Industrial Area.
Site Risk
| Media Affected | Contaminants | Source of Contamination |
| Soils, surface water, groundwater, air | Plutonium, americium, uranium, volatile organic compounds | Past production of nuclear weapons components left leaking storage drums, unlined disposal trenches, surface water impoundments, leaking pipelines and underground storage tanks, two landfills, and contaminated buildings. |
Cleanup Progress
Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site declared physical construction completion as of October 13, 2005
The site was cleaned up as an accelerated action through federal and state oversight, with DOE as the lead agency. Most of the activities at the site were completed under the terms of the Rocky Flats Cleanup Agreement signed by DOE, EPA and CDPHE in July 1996.
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- All special nuclear materials were packaged and shipped to other DOE facilities including: approximately 21 tons of weapons grade material, approximately 100 tons of plutonium residues and 30,000 liters of plutonium and enriched uranium solutions. These materials were processed prior to shipment to meet strict transportation and receiver site requirements;
- Over 800 structures were cleaned up as necessary and removed. This included safe decommissioning, decontamination and demolition of five major plutonium processing and fabrication facilities and two major uranium fabrication facilities totaling more than 1,000,000 square feet.
- A total of 1,457 gloveboxes, many of which were highly contaminated internally, underwent deactivation, decontamination, removal and size reduction as required, and disposal off site. Glovebox sizes ranged up to the size of an 18 wheel tractor-trailer vehicle.
- A total of 690 tanks, many of which were highly contaminated internally, underwent deactivation, decontamination, removal and size reduction as required, and disposal off site. Tank sizes ranged up to three stories high and 30,000 gallons capacity.
- Four hundred twenty one historical IHSSs, PACs, UBC sites and PICs were thoroughly investigated and dispositioned through appropriate accelerated remedial actions or by determining that no action was required.
- EPA on May 25, 2007 announced the deletion of 25,423 acres of the Rocky Flats site in Jefferson and Boulder Counties, CO from the National Priorities List. (NPL). This deletion reflects the completion of all response actions for the offsite and peripheral parcels and will allow the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to transfer part of the site to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage as a National Wildlife Refuge.
- Covers were installed on the Present Landfill (IHSS 114) and the Original Landfill (IHSS 115) to meet final closure performance criteria.
- Three contaminated groundwater plume barriers and passive treatment systems, and a seep collection and passive aeration treatment system were installed and continue to operate. An OU 1 groundwater treatment system was also installed and subsequently removed. More than 11 million gallons of groundwater and more than five million gallons of seep water have been treated. The systems and contaminates removed are: (1) Solar Ponds Plume Treatment System that collects and passively treats groundwater to remove nitrates and uranium; (2) East Trenches Plume Treatment System that collects and passively treats groundwater to remove volatile organic compounds, primarily carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene and their degradation products; (3) The Mound Site Plume Treatment System that collects and passively treats groundwater to remove volatile organic compounds, primarily carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene and their degradation products; and (4) The Present Landfill Seep Treatment System that passively treats groundwater collected primarily from the perimeter of the landfill to remove volatile organic compounds, mostly benzene.
- All wastes from these cleanup and closure activities, including previously generated process wastes and contaminated excavated soils, were managed and processed as required by receiver facilities, packaged to meet strict transportation requirements and shipped off site. The waste removal included: (1) More than 15,000 cubic meters of transuranic waste (TRU), including transuranic mixed waste (TRM - radioactive wastes mixed with hazardous wastes), were shipped to DOE's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico; (2) More than 500,000 cubic meters of low level radioactive waste (LLW), including low level mixed wastes (LLMW) were shipped to DOE and commercial permitted facilities; and (3) More than 820,000 cubic meters of sanitary wastes, including building debris and other wastes such as soils from cleanup that are not regulated wastes, were shipped to commercial permitted facilities.
Transfer to a National Wildlife Refuge
The Record of Decision was signed on September 29, 2006. The Peripheral OU, which largely consists of the previous Buffer Zone, and OUT 3 (off-site areas) will be deleted from the NPL. The deletion will follow responses to comments received during a 30-day public comment period solicited with a Federal Register notice and public notice of intent to delete those areas. The Central OU, largely the previous industrial area, will not be deleted from the NPL and will remain under DOE control for monitoring and maintenance.
After deletion, DOE will transfer the Peripheral OU to the Department of the Interior for management by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. The Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act of 2001 authorized the refuge.
The site provides habitat for many wildlife species, including the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse which is federally protected as a threatened species.
Community Involvement
EPA, CDPHE and DOE held stakeholder meetings and invited stakeholders to many site technical meetings to present cleanup plans and receive input on major remedial activities. DOE funded two stakeholder groups: the Citizens Advisory Board, a DOE Site Specific Advisory Board, and the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments, A DOE reuse and local government organization. DOE now funds the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council, a local stakeholder organization involved in post-closure oversight.
Site Documents
Five-Year Review Annual Update PDF December 2008 (5 pp, 86K, About PDF )
Rocky Flats Plant 5-Year Review PDF September 2007 (171 pp, 7.4MB, About PDF)
Contacts
EPAVera Moritz John Dalton |
ColoradoCarl Spreng Marilyn Null |
View Documents at:EPA Superfund Records Center Colorado Department of Public Health |
Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment Rocky Flats Web Site |