Plutonium Traces in Air Near Rocky Flats Colorado former nuclear weapons site

[Eric J in MN]

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/activists-say-plutonium-particles-found-in-air-at-rocky-flats/19581335

Activists questioning the thoroughness of the cleanup at an old nuclear weapons plant northwest of Denver say they have found particles of weapons-grade plutonium in air samples taken near the site. Part of the site is a national wildlife refuge that is slated to open for public recreation.

The federal Department of Energy declared in 2005 that its decontamination of the Rocky Flats facility was complete, after a 10-year effort that cost $7 billion (although the DOE originally thought the project would take 65 years and $37 billion). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is planning to allow public recreation at a national wildlife refuge established in 2007 on part of the site.

The U.S. Department of Energy said in 2005 that decontamination was complete at the old Rocky Flats nuclear weapons facility, shown here in the mid-1990s."The interesting thing is that we found no plutonium in two samples and a lot of plutonium in two other samples," Marco Kaltofen, the head of a Boston lab that identified the particles, told AOL News...Kaltofen also said he found traces of less than 0.5 percent of plutonium and americium, which he called "significant, a huge amount."

...The microscopic particles can be easily inhaled, ingested or absorbed through an open wound. If plutonium is lodged in the body, it bombards surrounding tissue with radiation, which increases the risk of cancer and genetic defects.