Denver Direct: Finally. You can do something about Rocky Flats. GET THE DATA.


Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Finally. You can do something about Rocky Flats. GET THE DATA.

Dr. LeRoy Moore, who retired a few years back from part-time teaching at the University of Colorado in Boulder, has spent countless hours, since 1979, trying to keep track of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant: the scene of major environmental crimes, the scene of the infamous “Operation Desert Glow” FBI raid and the subsequent “Ambushed Grand Jury“, the scene of remediation plans cut from $30 billion to $10 billion, the scene of various cover-ups, the scene of a hand-off from DOE to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and now the scene of developers eager to build roads and houses, all within what he believes is the path of radioactive dust, still left behind at the scene.

Countless hours of video testimony reveal some saying its safe (CDPHE), and some saying they would never allow their kids to take a field trip there (scientists and workers). Click on Rocky Flats in the index to the right to read (and watch) more.

RADICAL PROPOSAL

So now Dr. Moore has come up with a RADICAL PROPOSALLet’s sample breathable dust in surface soil at Rocky Flats and examine it for its plutonium content and see what the data says. Whoa. Totally rad. He’s been asking Fish & Wildlife and CDPHE to do this but they’ve refused, saying it’s safe already!

Dr. Moore has assembled a team of scientists, experts in the field, to collect samples for analysis on the down-wind side of the Refuge. We all could then look at the data — though Dr. Moore is quick to say that sampling only shows what’s present where and when the samples are collected. What really is needed, he emphasizes, is a long-term program dust sampling, because what’s in the dust on the surface is being constantly changed by the actions of burrowing animals. A sample collected today will show what’s found today.

It’s going to take some money to do this, not much, around $7000. Here’s where we come in. We are not scientists or experts, but we can cough up a few bucks to support this critical work. All of the donations will go to the actual sampling and testing costs.

HOW TO TAKE PART:

Go to www.rmpjc.org. (this is a well-established non-profit – your donation will be tax deductible). Click on the donate button (have your credit card ready). MAKE SURE YOU DESIGNATE YOUR CONTRIBUTION FOR “RF SAMPLING”, otherwise it will go into their general fund.

We need to raise this money by the end of April. That gives us about 30 days. Thirty days to tell your friends – its time to GET THE DATA. Donate now.

This is a different kind of donation. We’re not asking you to help elect some guy who may or may not win; or who may or may not do what he said he would do. This is an ACTION donation. You are helping to pay for scientific research.

We all want to be safe and for our future generations to be safe. Plutonium continues to be dangerously radioactive for 240,000 years, and that’s a lot of generations.

And if you are still not convinced, here’s Dr. Moore:

The biggest hazard remaining at the site of the former Rocky Flats nuclear bomb plant is tiny plutonium particles that are known to remain in the soil. Particles on the surface can be picked up by wind and carried far and wide. They are too small to be seen but not too small to endanger one’s health for decades to come if they are inhaled or taken into the bloodstream via a scraped knee or elbow. Children are especially vulnerable.

One danger is the prospect of building the 470 Beltway along the downwind side of the Rocky Flats site which would stir up a lot of dust. Another is U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans when funds are available to open most of the Rocky Flats site as a wildlife refuge that allows public recreation. This means family picnics and kids playing at a plutonium-contaminated site.

Local citizens concerned about this hazard have invited two scientists to collect and analyze a small number of dust samples from Rocky Flats. Their results could underscore the need for a larger study. About $7,000 must be raised to fund their work.

Best, LeRoy

To support this research with a tax-deductible donation, go to www.rmpjc.org and click on the “Donate now” button in the right column, then designate your donation “for RF sampling” (if you don’t make such a designation, your donation will go to the general fund). Or you can send a check marked “for RF sampling” to Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, P. O. Box 1156, Boulder, CO 80306.


And by the way, thank you Dr. Moore, for never giving up in bringing truth to light. We appreciate your work.