Mental health professionals practicing in Arvada, Broomfield, Westminster, Superior, Boulder and other communities near Rocky Flats may encounter clients whose emotional well-being has been affected by the history of the former nuclear weapons plant. Some clients may have lived, worked or attended school near Rocky Flats. Others may be former workers, family members of workers, current residents or people who learned about the site only after receiving a serious medical diagn

The 2016 Metro State–RFD Health Survey collected 1,745 community health histories and reported concerning preliminary patterns involving thyroid and rare cancers. The findings were never conclusive—but the study closed before its proposed next steps or a final analysis could be completed.

The Union of Concerned Scientists explains how ionizing radiation can affect the body immediately or contribute to illnesses that emerge years later. Learn why this research matters to communities connected to the nuclear-weapons life cycle, including Rocky Flats.

Colorado has monitored cancer incidence around Rocky Flats for decades, but an exchange with the state's cancer registry raises an important methodological question: Can data based largely on where people live when diagnosed adequately evaluate a community defined by where people may have lived and been exposed decades earlier?