The Colorado mining board extended closure of an allegedly illegal mining and milling operation near Rocky Flats that inspectors say threatens Jefferson County watersheds, adding a fine up to $12,000 and ordering the owners to apply for a state permit and post cleanup funds. In a contentious hearing Wednesday in front of the Mined Land […]
Rocky Flats
Posted inEnvironment, Health, News
New tests find lower radioactivity at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge
By Dan Elliott, The Associated Press A new round of soil testing near a former nuclear weapons plant outside Denver found no radioactivity above the cleanup standard for the site with a history of environmental violations, U.S. officials said Friday. The Fish and Wildlife Service released the results of tests on 48 soil samples from […]
Posted inEnvironment, News
Plutonium found in Rocky Flats soil near Denver, though 2nd test shows lower level
By Dan Elliott, The Associated Press Elevated levels of plutonium were found in the soil near a former nuclear weapons plant outside Denver, while a second test showed far lower levels, health officials said Tuesday. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said it is trying to sort out the conflicting results of tests […]
Posted inEnvironment, News
Wildlife roam where U.S. once made nuclear and chemical arms, like at Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Arsenal and Rocky Flats
By Dan Elliott, The Associated Press 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. An astonishing array of animals and habitats flourished on six obsolete weapons complexes — mostly […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Environment, News
Federal prosecutors say they can’t find files on investigation into Rocky Flats nuclear arms plant
By Dan Elliott, The Associated Press The U.S. Department of Justice has lost track of more than 60 boxes of documents from a 27-year-old criminal investigation into safety and environmental violations at a former nuclear weapons plant in Colorado, officials said Tuesday. The files were gathered in a two-year grand jury probe of the Rocky […]
Posted inSunLit, SunLit Interviews
After growing up in proximity to military contamination, author felt moved to examine how lands were converted to wildlife refuge
David G. Havlick is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. He is the author of “No Place Distant: Roads and Motorized Recreation on America’s Public Lands” and co-editor of “Restoring Layered Landscapes: History, Ecology, and Culture.” The following is an interview with Havlick. Each […]
Posted inBook Excerpts, SunLit
On militarized landscapes in Colorado and beyond, can we successfully preserve both history and environment?
David G. Havlick is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He is the author of “No Place Distant: Roads and Motorized Recreation on America’s Public Lands” and co-editor of “Restoring Layered Landscapes: History, Ecology, and Culture.” The following is an excerpt from his book, […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Activists want details on 27-year-old criminal investigation into Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant
By Dan Elliot, The Associated Press Activists asked a U.S. judge Thursday to make documents public from a 27-year-old criminal investigation into a former nuclear weapons plant outside Denver with a history of fires, leaks and spills. The activists said the documents could show whether the federal government did enough to clean up the site before […]