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® ~~ ~ <br />Tri-Coun~/ Health De artm nt <br />Serving Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas Counties <br />Hugh r~hrer, M.Q, M.PH. <br />Director <br />AN OVERVIEW OF TRI-COUNTY HEALTH'S ROLE WITH THE UNITED <br />STATES ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL <br />THE UNITED STATES ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL'S HISTORY <br />The Rocky Mountain Arsenal, established in 1942, was one of the U.S. Army's last <br />chemical weapons manufacturing facilities to be built during World War II. The Arsenal <br />operated in that capacity until the1960's, producing chemical weapons such as: GB and <br />Sarin nerve agent, Levinstein Mustard Gas, Phosgene, and Lewisite Gas. Aftet the 1960's, <br />RMA was used primarily for the neutralization and incineration of obsolete GB, Mustard, <br />and other chemical munitions. <br />Following World War II, Congress encouraged the Army to lease war manufacturing <br />facilities for private industrial use. This was done in efforts to help the national and local <br />economy, offset costs, and maintain the facilities for national security. Shell Chemical <br />Company was the Arsenal's primary lessee from 1952 to 1982. During this time Shell <br />produced pesticides and agricultural chemicals. <br />During the more than 50 years of chemical manufacturing, the disposal practices used by <br />the Army and Shell included treatment, burial, incineration, deep well injection, and <br />evaporative basins. These practices were used for the disposal of all waste types, <br />including hazardous wastes. Although these methods were widely accepted practices at <br />the time, in retrospect, they were not environmentally sound. Contamination of <br />groundwater and soils resulted from those practices, as well as from leaks in sewer lines, <br />wind dispersion, and accidental spills. <br />Today, the Arsenal's only mission is of environmental cleanup and the development of the <br />land for a National Wildlife Refuge. <br />CONTAMINATION AT THE ARSENAL <br />Arsenal related contamination can be found both onpost and in an offpost area which <br />borders the Arsenal on the North and Northwest. The onpost contamination, limited to <br />the areas azound the production and disposal sites, is found in the soil, ground water, lake <br />sediment, and in surface water. Offpost contamination can be found in soil, but the <br />majority is found in the shallow, unconfined aquifer. The main Arsenal-related <br />contaminants in the groundwater are: volatile organic chemicals, such as Benzene, <br />Chloroform, Toluene, and Trichloroethylene (TCE); pesticides and other related <br />chemicals, such as Aldrin, Atrazine, Chlordane, Dibromochloropropane (DBCP), Dieldrin, <br />AdmirNStrative Office ^ 7000 East Belleview Avenue ^ Suite 301 ^ Englewood, Colorado 80111-1628 <br />303/220-9200 ^ FAX 303/220-9208 <br />