Rocky
Flats was part of a nationwide complex that produced nuclear
weapons for national security during the Cold War, the central
international conflict of the 20th century. After WWII,
the U.S. and Russia became competing superpowers in an arms
race, both developing nuclear weapons and political alliances
to protect their interests.
Neither
nation could use these nuclear weapons without risking retaliation
and possible global catastrophe. The Soviet Union collapsed
after 1989, unable to maintain the high cost of this arms
race.
Rocky
Flats stopped weapons production in 1992. Unfortunately,
weapons production also created environmental contamination
and heightened worker and public health risks. The site
is now undergoing decommissioning, decontamination and cleanup.
It is scheduled to close in 2006.
In
response to the impending demolition and cleanup of the
plant site, concerned stakeholders began in 1998 to explore
ways to preserve the history of Rocky Flats. Recent Congressional
legislation, supported by U.S. Senator Wayne Allard and
U.S. Representative Mark Udall, created a wildlife preserve
at Rocky Flats and "authorizes the creation of a Rocky
Flats Museum to commemorate the workers who helped the United
States win the Cold War."
"Rocky
Flats has local, national and global significance,"
according to Carol Lyons, an environmental consultant who
was the museum board's first president. "Rocky Flats
and its employees played a key role in the Cold War which
was the most important geopolitical struggle in the world
in the last 50 years."
In
July 2001, the board incorporated an independent 501(c)(3)
organization to develop the museum. It is working off an
initial planning grant of $150,000 from Kaiser-Hill, the
company hired by the federal government to clean up Rocky
Flats.
The
museum's specific location, size or content will be determined
through an intensive concept development process. The board
of directors wants to locate the museum on-or as close as
possible-to the existing Rocky Flats plant site.
The
museum board includes representatives from local government,
state and federal regulatory agencies, environmental and
peace groups, academe, concerned citizens, current and former
Rocky Flats employees and contractors.
The
board is currently working to preserve key artifacts before
buildings are torn down and contents are destroyed or removed;
beginning an oral history and video project to document
stories of plant workers, activists and others related to
the site; beginning fundraising; and inviting stakeholder
involvement.
Challenges
and Opportunities
1. Demolition and cleanup
will result in the loss of key artifacts needed to illustrate
the story of nuclear weapons production and the building
of the physical plant.
--> The RFCWM seeks to preserve representative examples
of the building complex as artifacts that help to illustrate
the history of the site and its role in the Cold War. Artifacts
could include glove boxes, storage containers, photographs,
building diagrams, robotic equipment, respirators and protective
suits, radiation measuring instruments, hand scanners, gloves,
signs from anti-nuclear demonstrations, and a security station.
2. Aging and retirement of the Rocky Flats work force
means that the stories of plant workers are disappearing
with each passing day.
--> The RFCWM seeks to address this problem by initiating
a scholarly oral history and video project to document the
stories of current and former plant workers. The project
will include interviews with non-plant workers and people
from surrounding communities, including community activists
who opposed the plant's operations and educated the public
about environmental issues on site.
3. Contamination will remain in some areas at the
site for thousands of years. This problem requires ongoing
site monitoring, stewardship and other means of institutional
control to protect public health and the environment in
the future.
--> The RFCWM seeks to assist in these efforts by serving
as a repository for archives and data about contamination
at the site, and by providing information to citizens that
will help to protect public health and the environment for
the future. In this way, the Museum can serve as a vital
resource for recruiting and informing future citizen-stewards
whose care of this site will be required for several generations.
Potentially, the RFCWM will be integrated with educational
programs associated with the nature preserve currently planned
for location on a portion of the site.
