Rocky Flats grapples with radioactive past, recreation future 

The Rocky Mountain Greenway aims to connect 80 miles of trails from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver International Airport to Rocky Mountain National Park, passing through the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, which was once a nuclear weapons plant. The project has been plagued by controversy for years due to concerns about lingering radioactive contamination. State and federal officials say radiation levels there are far below safety limits, but health advocates say that no amount of plutonium exposure is safe for humans.

Local distrust has slowed the project, with nearby cities pulling their support due to contamination concerns and groups like Physicians for Social Responsibility filing lawsuits to block trail construction. While a judge denied an injunction in 2024, litigation over the trail continues. The debate over Rocky Flats highlights the question of whether lands contaminated by nuclear waste can ever be restored safely for recreation.

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Quote of the day

The history of Rocky Flats is that our community, the Denver-area community, for more than 40 years, was engaged in manufacturing plutonium bombs capable of destroying our human species, and even though the buildings are gone, the products of Rocky Flats remain with us.”

—University of Colorado professor emeritas Len Ackland, Colorado Sun.

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