AR-News: (U.S. - Co.) refuse refuge

[Mary Finelli]

WHERE THE DEER AND THE SARIN GAS PLAY
Rocky Mountain Arsenal Gives Birth to Wildlife Refuge
Daily Grist, April 19, 2004


Nearly 5,000 acres of the former Rocky Mountain Arsenal reopened this 
weekend as a national wildlife refuge.  Located some 10 miles northeast of 
Denver, Colo., the arsenal, a 27-square-mile chemical-weapons complex that 
for four decades produced sarin, mustard gas, and napalm, left behind one of 
the nation's most polluted landscapes.  Cleanup began in 1985, and because 
the site was closed to the public, it became a haven for eagles, deer, 
coyote, and other wildlife.  The area remains a Superfund site and 
remediation will continue for years; an additional 10,000 acres will be 
added to the refuge when cleanup finishes around 2011.  While some groups 
hailed the opening, others questioned the wisdom of promoting public access 
to an area where sarin-gas bomblets were found as recently as 2001 and toxic 
chemicals remain in the soil.  Sandra Horrocks of the Sierra Club drew a 
colorful analogy to illustrate the incomplete remediation at the arsenal:  
"Storing your dirty underwear under your bed is not cleaning your bedroom."

straight to the source:  Rocky Mountain News, Berny Morson, 17 Apr 2004
http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2325

straight to the source:  The New York Times, Kirk Johnson, 19 Apr 2004
http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2326

straight to the source:  Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, 17 Apr 2004
http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2328

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