T-152
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PLUTONIUII AND PUBLIC HEALTI!
Donald P. Geesamen
Author's Note--June 1972
On May 11, 1969 a major fire occurred at the large Rocky Flats
the AEC by the Dow Chemical Company.
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plutonium facility located northwest of Denver, Colorado, .and operated for
¥or description of this fire see
AEC press releases M-121, May 20, 1969, and M-257, November 18, 1959.
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en Sel te ele
Consequent to this fire E.A. Martell and S.E. Poct conducted a
pilot study on the plutonium contamination of surface soils in the Rocky
Flats environs.
their results sugcesied an off site contamination that was
orders of magnitude larger than that which would have been expected from
the r4cusured plutonium releases in the cir effluent of the facility. |
In a letter of January 13, 1970 to Glenn Seaborg, then chairman
of the AEC, and in a press relcase of February 24, 1970 bythe Colorado
‘Committee on Environmental Information, ‘Martell etal. called attention
.
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.
SY
In response the AEC fixed
oS Xe
the probable origin of the off site contamination as wind dispersal of plutonium leaking from rusted barrels of contaminated cutting of], and denied
‘that cause existed for concera over hazards to public health (see AKC
pross release N-22, February 13, 1970),
It was my conviction thal the At responce provided a distorted
.
sae
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origin and over its significance to public health.
ae ce wh eee
Arete mene eeone
to this anomalous contamination and expressed concern over its uncertain