Thousands of property owners near Rocky Flats spent more than 26 years pursuing claims over plutonium contamination, nuisance, and diminished property values. Cook v. Rockwell ultimately produced a $375 million settlement—but it did not address residents’ personal health claims.

On June 6, 1989, FBI and Environmental Protection Agency investigators entered the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant with a federal search warrant. The investigation became one of the defining events in Rocky Flats history. Twenty-five years later, former FBI agent Jon Lipsky sat down with Rocky Mountain PBS to describe, in his own words, how the investigation began, what investigators encountered at the plant, and what happened after the search. How the investigation began L

Property owners near Rocky Flats spent 27 years pursuing claims over plutonium contamination. Their case ended in a $375 million settlement. Dow and Rockwell were the defendants—but federal indemnification meant they did not ultimately bear its financial cost. The federal government did.