The Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a former chemical weapon manufacturing facility, is located northwest Denver, Colorado. It was founded in response the World War II in Europe. The Arsenal is now a national wildlife refuge. RMA was also used for chemical weapons production.
The site is currently leased to the Army and contractor firms, and is operated as a national wildlife refuge. The site is home to approximately 1,100 acres. U.S. Army also manages an on-site garbage dump, two waste consolidation areas and five groundwater treatment plants.
RMA was created in 1942 in order to produce chemicals for war efforts. In 2010, the cleanup of RMA was complete. Nearly 650 hazardous material were eliminated as a result. These materials included solid wastes, explosives and other chemicals. Some of the compounds produced at the RMA included Napalm, a deadly pesticide; rocket fuel; and chemical munitions. Many of these contaminated substances migrated into the soil and water surrounding them.
In the mid-1960s, the Army attempted a pilot project to manage these toxic wastes. They came up with a plan to inject chemicals at the RMA through a deep well. After several earthquakes, however, the injection activity was stopped. It was not a regular waste disposal practice. The site had a number of open basins, including Basin A, which contained 93 acres, and Basin F, which was a large open lagoon. They were all contaminated. The groundwater was also high in these areas. Therefore, groundwater contaminated the surrounding region.
RMA was an ex-chemical weapons manufacturing site that had a significant impact upon the local community. While there were no known fatalities associated with the contamination, numerous farmers suffered crop damage. At nearby ranches, livestock also died. Fourteen interim actions were taken to stop exposures by the Army, XXX Oil Company and the Army.
In addition to the chemical wastes, the facility also manufactured products for agriculture, such as herbicides. These products were transferred off the site via a rail spur. During the transfer of chemicals to rail cars, some buildings on the RMA were destroyed.
The XXXX Oil Company leased a few of the facilities and used them to produce pesticides. After the RMA's use as a military facility was discontinued, the site became a national wildlife refuge.
While the RMA’s wastes had been removed from the site's location, the chemical contamination spread to the surrounding area. A number of areas were contaminated. Groundwater extraction was necessary. Groundwater P&T system were installed near the RMA’s northwest and north boundaries. Operable Units 2 (and 3) were also affected. The off-site ROD also affected domestic wells in these areas.
The RMA's Emergency Management/Contingency Plan describes the U.S. Army's response to the contaminated land, and provides guidance to the managers of the RMA National Wildlife Refuge.