Nonfiction books on rocky flats len ackland, making a real killing. I wrote the book to learn what really happened at rocky flats, to learn. Plutonium, used to construct the weapons fissile components, can spontaneously combust at room temperatures in air. The rocky flats national wildlife refuge plan calls for 12. Half life by roopa farooki this was really a slow read for me and most of the time i wanted to put it away but the curiosity of how it will end made me continue in this book we follow the stories of arunamain character, jazz and hassan, the chapter dedicated to each person has the present story and also the past. I lived much closer to rocky flats and the contaminated water and air from prebirth until my early 20s. The contamination at rocky flats will long outlive our efforts to control or even remember it. Half life of memory is a documentary film about the rocky flats nuclear bomb plant near denver.
Kristen iversens full body burdengrowing up in the shadow of rocky flats, shows what it was like to live near a nuclear weapons facility. About the author kristen iversen grew up in arvada, colorado, near the rocky flats nuclear weaponry facility and received a ph. The struggle to remember the nuclear west high country. Over the lifespan of the plant over 3000lbs of plutonium, with a halflife of.
Rocky flats stirs strong emotions, pits sides 10 years. Growing up in the nuclear shadow of rocky flats is being made into. Growing up in the nuclear shadow of rocky flats is a 2012 nonfiction account by kristen iversen. Moreover, since the halflife of plutonium239, the form used at rocky flats, is 24,110 years, any quantity of this material in the environment poses an essentially permanent danger. I believe the colorado study will conclude that the rocky mountain region and the denver metropolitan area had a higher incidence of thyroid cancer than the rest of the nation. Facing rocky flats art exhibit, 6 pm, canyon theater and gallery, boulder public library, 2 arapahoe ave. Her fathers hidden liquor bottles, the strange cancers in children in the neighborhood, the truth about what they made at rocky. Most of the radioactive contamination from rocky flats came from three sources. Ongoing concerns about the rocky flats site kgnu news. Its the story of a childhood and adolescence in the shadow of the cold war, in a landscape at once startlingly beautiful andunknown to. The rocky flats plutonium pit factory outside of denver, co was extremely important to our national defense in the cold war, but the long lasting effects it had on the local environment may show. The halflife of of plutonium, the duration of time that it remains deadly, is a quarter of a million years.
Jeff gipes event precedes the planned opening of the rocky flats national wildlife refuge. One is the film based on kristen iversens awardwinning book, full body burden, growing up in the nuclear shadow of rocky flats. Plutonium has a very long halflife that will be, that has to. Nichols says that the halflife of plutonium is about 24,000 years and by the time it is innocuous it is 14 million years this represents 10,000 generations in human terms. Rent full body burden growing up in the nuclear shadow of rocky flats 1st edition 9780307955630 and save up to 80% on textbook rentals and 90% on used textbooks. Approximately of the former rocky flats land is still considered unsafe and will remain closed. The facilitys primary mission was the fabrication of plutonium pits, which were shipped to other facilities to be assembled into nuclear weapons. It is also a story about the destructive power of secrets family secrets and government secrets and the cost of. On mothers day may 11, 1969, a plutonium fire broke out in the processing section of building 776, creating one of the most costly industrial accidents i.
Iversens powerful narrative interweaves the story of her family life with the story of the establishment and operation of the rocky flats. Full body burden is a haunting work of narrative nonfiction about a young woman, kristen iversen, growing up in a small colorado town close to rocky flats, a secret nuclear weapons plant once designated the most contaminated site in america. Each month we select a book and have a discussion with the author in studio. New suburbs were built closer to rocky flats some only 3 miles away told to at least prepare to evacuate japan in 2011, i had to wonder about myself as a child growing up there near rocky flats. Rocky flats downwinders says the government has done no comprehensive epidemiology to assess health impacts from the known releases of plutonium into their communities. Kristen iversen signs full body burden square books. Doctor strangelove, 7 pm, thalacker room, wulsin hall, naropa univ. Urban myths debunked in a story of secrecy, criminal allegations, and intrigue, the author delivers a personal account of his professional experiences at the rocky flats plant a governmentowned facility located northwest of denver, colorado which produced nuclear weapons components for the u. Department of energy had nothing else to do but tell the truth rocky flats building 771 is the most dangerous building in america. Rocky flats and the nuclear trigger on monday, july 15, 2019 gipe has lived the rocky flats story as much as anyone.
Rocky flats nuclear weapons plant closed long ago, but is still a hot topic. Amazon second chance pass it on, trade it in, give it a second life. Kristen iversen grew up in arvada, colorado, near the rocky flats nuclear. Knowing all this, after the mothers day 1969 fire he asked authorities at rocky flats to test soil for plutonium in areas downwind of the plant.
Half life by roopa farooki meet your next favorite book. A writer tries to dig up the buried history of colorados rocky flats weapons. The situation was so bad at rocky flats that the u. A complex of white buildings, right, is where a multimillion dollar fire crippled operations at the rocky flats nuclear weapons plant on may 11, 1973. Its also a book about the destructive power of secretsboth family and government.
Radioactive contamination from the rocky flats plant. The main trouble with plutonium is that it remains a hazard for tens of thousands of years. Rocky flats was a nuclear weapons plant that produced plutonium triggers for nuclear bombs from the early 1950s to 1989. Her fathers hidden liquor bottles, the strange cancers in children in the neighborhood, the truth about what was made at rocky flats cleaning supplies, her mother guessedbest not to inquire too deeply into any of it. Full body burden is kristen iversens story of growing up in a small colorado town in.
Rocky flats right to know is an organization devoted to educating the public about rocky flats. The halflife of plutonium is 20,000 years and it looks like books about plutonium have a long shelflife, too. The other is jeff gipes film, the halflife of memory. Lawsuit filed to block public access to rocky flats kgnu. After decades of secrets, rocky flats still gives me pause. Its a massive gamble and it should not be allowed to go ahead. Rocky flats nuclear facility workers in a plutonium storage area, 1988. As the book points out, the half life of plutonium is around 24,000 years, so releases on the order of what the book mentions would have been persistent and easy to detect. Radioactive iodine and thyroid cancer rocky flats plant. Kristen iversen has lived this life and is an authority on the culture of secrecy that has.
Rocky flats nuclear legacy remains, despite upcoming settlements and trail plans. Nichols says it is an uncalculated risk for anyone to go out and recreate at rocky flats as he says the federal agencies have been negligent in analyzing the risks to the public given that the half a halflife of plutonium is 24,100 years. Half memoir, half investigative journalism, the book covers iversens life in a town near denver, colorado, as well as rocky flatsthe nearby nuclear production facility. The halflife series begins in the 2000s, at the fictional black mesa research facility in new mexico. At rothys, we take a whole brand approach to sustainability. When kristen iversen decided to write about growing up in. To park, go south on 19 th, left on first street to the end friday, april 27. Full body burden is kristen iversens story of growing up in a small colorado town in the shadow of rocky flats, a secret nuclear weapons plant. Full body burden a feature length documentary from haveypro cinema based on the book by kristen iversen. The lack of sufficient federal funding has delayed the opening of the refuge. Growing up in the nuclear shadow of rocky flats, is in part a memoir about her troubled family, and also an investigation into the decadeslong environmental. Half life of memory is a documentary film about the rocky flats nuclear bomb plant.
Its also a book about the destructive power of secrets both family secrets and government secrets. This particular patch of prairie once housed the rocky flats plant where cold warriors built the plutonium triggers that were used in atomic bombs. Facing rocky flats will run until june 10, in advance of the planned public opening of the rocky flats national wildlife refuge, 5,237 acres of grasslands surrounding the former facility site ceded to the u. Full body burden is kristen iversens story of growing up in a small colorado town close to rocky flats, a secret nuclear weapons plant. But it still dealt with one of the most toxic elements on the planet, one with a halflife of 24,000 years, as well as many deadly chemicals. From our materials to our production to the way we treat our people, we consider sustainability every step of the way. Full body burden and millions of other books are available for instant access. The 5,000acre rocky flats national wildlife refuge not including a 1,300acre core where for nearly four decades critical components for the nations nuclear arsenal were manufactured. Just over half a million in 1950, by 1969 the population of the denver metro area. By the time of the 1969 rocky flats fire, the plant had been manufacturing those triggers for sixteen years, largely in secret. Growing up in the nuclear shadow of rocky flats full disclosure i am a patron of the library and fully support checking out.
When cookie figowitz, the cook for a party of volatile fur trappers t. At first glance, the picture above could be any prairie land between wyoming and new mexico, but its not. The halflife of memory, by contrast, is a much briefer thing. During the cold war, rocky flats was secretly machining plutonium manufactured at hanford into some 70,000 spheres that formed the explosive heart of each weapon in uncle sams nuclear arsenal. The halflife of the main isotope found at rocky flats, plutonium239, is 24,100 years. The rocky flats wildlife refuge sometimes mistakenly called the rocky mountain national wildlife refuge was the buffer zone. The decision to shut down plutonium operations at rocky flats was quietly taken during the media firestorm that followed this project.
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