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Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado Located in Adams County, Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal is a former chemical weapons manufacturing site deemed to be one of the most polluted areas—not only in the United States, but in the entire world. On June 15, 1942, the U.S. government purchased 20,000 acres of farmland for the development of chemical weapons in World War II. Initially, three types of chemicals dominated production: mustard gas, Lewisite, and chlorine gas. However, the creation of many other types of weapons, chemical in composition, ensued. For example, napalm bombs developed at the arsenal were used in Tokyo, and in the later years of the Vietnam War. The 1950s and 1960s proved to be a highly active period of production for the Arsenal, as Cold War animosity between the United States and Russia emerged. Eventually the manufacturing of chemical weapons slowed down and demilitarization of the Arsenal began through the sale and lease of regions. Following the lease of portions of the site to Shell Gas Company starting in 1952, pesticides and herbicides were produced, leaving devastating effects on the wildlife. However, the advent of such chemicals, namely the insecticide containing the harmful chemical DDT, resulted in public suit against Shell. During this trial, the government stated that substances created at the Arsenal “such as benzene, vinyl chloride, and the pesticides aldrin and dieldrin were toxic and hazardous to human, plant, and animal life” as a result of ground contamination (Shabecoff). Dieldrin, found in the insecticides produced, proved to be harmful to the wildlife in the vicinity by “suppressing the immune system” (Hooper). As each decade passed, however, chemical waste produced at the site was not disposed of properly. Various methods and techniques, such as evaporation ponds and reservoirs, were ineffective means of discarding the waste. By the 1950s most of the ponds reached maximum capacity. Pollution of the land surrounding the site became an issue, yet not enough was done to prevent further contamination. Delayed response by the government did not help matters, and the Arsenal became nothing more than a storage site for chemical weapons and wastes. On December 9th, 1983 the State of Colorado sued the U.S. Government for the lack of enforcement of environmental rules and regulations at the Arsenal. Officials did not do their job overseeing the location and ensuring pollution prevention (Shabecoff). Today, efforts to clean up the Arsenal site are ongoing under the Superfund program, created in 1980 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Congress. From 1989 to present day, the site has been one of many undergoing extensive waste removal. Unfortunately, much of the damage to the environment is irreversible. For example, the toxicity of the land with chemicals such as Dioxin and Furan threaten not only the citizens of local cities, but the wildlife in the surrounding region. In a study conducted from 1979 to 1988 lung cancer did increase for residents to the west of the Arsenal (Public). In December 1988, remediation of one of the evaporation ponds (labeled Basin F) resulted in health complaints by nearby residents, such as eye irritation, rashes, headaches, and nausea (Public). Currently the Colorado Department of Health and Environment is monitoring the area and its inhabitants, while ensuring the safety by testing the soil and water for further contamination. Thus far, the number of birth defects and cancer development has remained stable throughout an eight year span; no discernable increases in either abnormality have arisen within that time frame, where clean up efforts have continued. Moreover, well water contamination has been minimal, but higher levels of nitrates could pose serious health implications for pregnant women and their fetuses (Public). The Rocky Mountain Arsenal began as means of defense, and has become a means of destruction on its own people and environment. In continued pursuit of resolution, the future of this site remains without a conclusion in prospect. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether the Arsenal will return to its once majestic landscape.
Selected Bibliography “Criteria Air Pollutant Report: ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL USARMY.” Scorecard. 2004. Weblink.
Hooper, Mike. “The Use of Wildlife Biomonitoring at Hazardous Waste Sites.” The Institute of Environmental and Human Health. Weblink.
“Public Health Assessment, Rocky Mountain Arsenal Adams County, Colorado: Public Health Implications.” Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Department of Health and Human Services. Weblink.
“Region 8-Superfund: Dioxin in Soil Studies July 2001.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 9 June 2004. Weblink.
“Rocky Mountain Arsenal Medical Monitoring Program.”Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.” Weblink.
“Rocky Mountain Arsenal: Turning Vision into Action.” Site History. 30 June 2005. Weblink.
Shabecoff, Philip. “U.S. Sues Shell Oil for $1.9 Billion in Pollution Case.” The New York Times section 1, column 4 (10 December 1983): 1.
“Weapons of Mass Detruction (WMD): Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA).” Global Security. 27 April 2005. Weblink.
Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado Pictures in the Gallery 
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