Officials discover a 55-gallon drum in the Walnut Creek drainage at Rocky Flats, as a new film on the site comes to Boulder

Drums previously uncovered at Rocky Flats. The recently discovered drum is not in this image, nor has KGNU yet to confirm that the 55-gallon drum recently found looks the same or similar.Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Officials discovered a 55-gallon drum in the Walnut Creek drainage at Rocky Flats.

This drum – if sourced from the former nuclear weapons plant – has the potential to contain extremely dangerous radioactive waste.

Environmental activists – especially those connected to Rocky Flats – see discoveries like these as clear signs that the superfund site still poses a massive risk to public safety.

The discovery hasn’t made headlines, at least not yet. Based on internal email documents posted to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)’s website, officials at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the U.S. Department of Energy spoke about the drum on November 21st.

This news was brought to Jackie Sedley’s attention by Jon Lipsky – the former FBI agent that led the search and eventual closure of Rocky Flats in the late 80s.

Initially, they sat down to discuss filmmaker Jeff Gipe’s new documentary, Half Life of Memory: America’s Forgotten Atomic Bomb Factory. You’ve heard from Gipe on the Mag before, back in October, when he was first screening it to the public. This time, Sedley sat down with Gipe and Lipsky just yesterday to have what they thought was going to be a straightforward conversation about the documentary.

The first portion of the interview you’ll about to hear does focus on Gipe’s work, and Lipsky’s history with Rocky Flats, but stay tuned to the end to hear the shocking news about the discovered drum.

Listen:

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    MorningMagazine_2025-01-30 Jackie Sedley

For more details on the screenings happening tomorrow, next week, in late February, and beyond, head to halflifeofmemory.com.

Here is the email between CDPHE and DOE officials: 55-Gallon Drum in Walnut Creek Drainage 20241121

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Jackie Sedley

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