Rocky Flats - Nuclear Weapons Production Facility

Some Cold War history...

1.5 miles down the road to the east of the posted coordinates is the site of the former Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant.

Rocky Flats was a secret, highly secure U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (later Dept. of Energy) facility that produced the “triggers” for nuclear weapons for the nation’s defense using plutonium, highly enriched uranium, beryllium and other materials. (Triggers are essentially atomic bombs that are needed to detonate H-bombs.)

Rocky Flats was in operation from 1952 to 1992. The industrial area of the plant covered slightly less than 1 square mile and was surrounded by a buffer zone of about 8 square miles. Employment peaked in the 1980’s with almost 10,000 people working there (including construction contractors). Most of the workers had “Q” security clearances which are somewhat higher than Top Secret.

The original operator of the plant was Dow Chemical. In 1975, Rockwell International took over, followed by EG&G in 1990 and Kaiser-Hill in 1995.

The plant had its own security force, fire department, medical facility, water, sewer and steam plants as well as many cafeterias, a credit union and many company-sponsored after-work clubs. The employees contributed financially to many local charities through voluntary payroll deductions.

The plant had an early history of accidents, including a plutonium-caused fire in 1957, leaking barrels of radioactive waste in 1959 and 1967, and another fire in 1969 that became the costliest industrial accident in the U.S. up to that time.

The plant was the target of frequent anti-nuclear protests during the 1970’s and 1980’s. In August 1978, about 75 protestors, including activists Daniel Ellsberg and poet Allen Ginsberg, were arrested during a protest. In September 1982, two Catholic nuns entered the first security checkpoint and came on plantsite by using counterfeit security badges. In 1983, an attempt to surround the plant with hand-holding protesters fell far short.

Production at the plant ended in 1992, though almost half the workers were kept on to help with the cleanup and shutdown efforts.

Plans for Rocky Flats to eventually become a National Wildlife Refuge were approved in 2001. The last weapons-grade plutonium was finally removed in 2003, and half of the 800 buildings were gone by 2004. Cleanup was declared completed on October 13, 2005. Radioactive contamination was removed from the ground surface where the plant itself was, but the surrounding buffer area (where the wildlife refuge is today) was not cleaned up. Depending on which report you read, or faction you listen to, the surrounding land is either perfectly safe or dangerously contaminated.

The Rocky Flats Lounge on Hwy 93 northwest of the plant was originally the payroll office for the plant during the early construction period. The building suffered a bad fire a few years ago, but apparently is being rebuilt, much to the delight of area Green Bay Packers fans.

The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. in Arvada, CO has a small exhibit on the history of the plant.

Rocky Flats 1999

Rocky Flats 2016

Current Land Status