Rocky Flats was recognized for its nationally significant role in Cold War nuclear weapons production. Its National Register of Historic Places documentation also records the plant's industrial operations, environmental controversies, safety concerns, and the events leading to its closure. The 34-page federal record offers a revealing look at the history behind the former weapons facility.

A 9NEWS report highlighted an important finding from the final years of the Rocky Flats cleanup: independent verification identified areas of plutonium contamination that remained above the cleanup action level even after remediation work had been completed. The issue centered on the 903 Pad and 903 Lip area, one of the most contaminated parts of the former Rocky Flats Plant. According to a 2006 Government Accountability Office review, ground-based scanning found five areas a

In January 2012, longtime Rocky Flats researcher and activist LeRoy Moore and photographer Robert Del Tredici published an opinion piece in the Boulder Daily Camera titled “Plutonium is forever.” Moore later preserved the article on his Rocky Flats blog, where it remains available today. More than a decade later, the piece provides an important historical perspective on concerns surrounding Rocky Flats, the proposed Jefferson Parkway and opening the Rocky Flats National Wildl

In 2012, LeRoy Moore and Robert Del Tredici published “Plutonium is forever,” an opinion piece raising concerns about residual plutonium contamination, the Jefferson Parkway and public recreation at Rocky Flats. More than a decade later, the article offers a historical perspective on questions about soil disturbance, public access and long-term stewardship that continue to surround Rocky Flats today.

New warning signs at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge are drawing renewed attention to the site’s nuclear history. Installed in response to public requests, the signs warn of radioactive materials and raise a larger question: how should visitors be informed about the history and continuing concerns surrounding land that once formed part of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons complex?

A 2024 joint submission to the Colorado State Board of Health calls for renewed scrutiny of Rocky Flats, including independent review, air monitoring, additional health research and greater public disclosure.

Decades before homes were built at Candelas, members of the Church-McKay family sued over radioactive contamination of property near Rocky Flats and its effect on land use and value. Years later, Charles Church McKay became a developer of Candelas. The documented history connects Rocky Flats contamination, litigation and modern development in ways many current residents may never have heard.

In a 2018 position paper, Jefferson Parkway Advisory Committee member Randy Stafford examined decades of soil studies, health research and historical records to argue that disturbing soil along Indiana Street could create additional public-health risks. His paper brings together important evidence—and competing interpretations—at the center of the Jefferson Parkway debate.

After the 1989 FBI raid halted plutonium production, Rocky Flats underwent an accelerated cleanup that reached physical completion in 2005. More than 800 structures were removed, but the cleanup did not eliminate all contamination. What remained, how were the decisions made, and why does Rocky Flats still require long-term environmental stewardship?

The Rocky Flats grand jury controversy is about more than a decades-old criminal investigation. It raises continuing questions about public access to historical records, government accountability, preservation of evidence and how communities can understand what happened at a former nuclear weapons facility when important records remain sealed or difficult to locate.