Rocky Flats: 25 year anniversary of the FBI raid

For the first time ever, on June 6, 1989 two federal government agencies — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) – raided a third – the Department of Energy (DOE). This extraordinary action symbolized a change in U.S. national government priorities to an emphasis on environmental protection at a time when the Cold War nuclear arms race was ending. But the raid on this top-secret weapons plant located just northwest of Arvada also had real, and sometimes disputed, effects on the community and on the thousands of area men and women who worked there. In 1992 President George H.W. Bush ended the Rocky Flats bomb-building mission and a years-long $7 billion environmental clean-up began. Today, most of the 6,400-acre site has been designated the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, an environmentally protected area. But many people are concerned abut ongoing plutonium contamination at the site, particularly with plans to develop housing and a highway in the area.

On June 6, 7, and 8, 2014, the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities will host Rocky Flats Then and Now: 25 Years After the Raid, a multifaceted event marking the 25th Anniversary of the historic raid on the nation’s only factory making the plutonium cores for nuclear bombs. We speak with Arvada Center Executive Director, Philip C. Sneed about the exhibit.

Listen to the interview below:

Rocky Flats: 25 year anniversary of the FBI raid kgnu

From 9-9:30am, Gavin Dahl interviews former Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps about media consolidation and the fight for the future of the Internet. On May 15th, the FCC will introduce new rules that will affect Internet Freedom for consumers and content providers. A large protest is expected to take place outside the FCC on the streets of Washington DC, led by nonpartisan public advocacy groups. Once these proposed rules are formally introduced, the public will have an opportunity to comment on the record and get involved in this important media policy process. This interview was originally aired on FSTV. Listen to the interview here.