HWY 93 BETWEEN GOLDEN&BOULDER
Rocky Flats is a 6,240-acre facility located approximately 16 miles northwest of Denver, Colorado, and approximately 10 miles south of Boulder, Colorado. The majority of the Rocky Flats site is located in Jefferson County, with a small portion located in Boulder County. Rocky Flats operated from 1952 until 1992 as part of the United States’ nationwide nuclear weapons complex. The facility manufactured trigger mechanisms for nuclear weapons from various radioactive and hazardous materials. The plant ceased operations in 1989 because of environmental and safety concerns. Plant facilities contained substantial quantities beryllium, plutonium and other hazardous substances. The greatest contamination and hazards were located within the 385-acre industrialized area at the center of the property, where the majority of the nearly 800 structures were located. The industrial area was surrounded by a security buffer zone, which contained some supporting activities, such as waste disposal, but was left mostly undisturbed. Contamination also spread from this area into the surrounding land and groundwater. In 1989 the EPA listed Rocky Flats on the National Priorities List (NPL). Nearly 40 years of nuclear weapons production at Rocky Flats had left facilities, groundwater, soil, and surface waters contaminated with chemical and radioactive substances that posed potential health and safety risks to the public and workers. Under CERCLA (Superfund law), the DOE is responsible for the response action for hazardous substance releases at Rocky Flats, with the EPA and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) as the support agencies.
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