Dec. 08, 2005 - 19:49 MST

HOW THIS WILL COME OUT ?

Now that biggies are patting themselves on the back about Rocky Flats Cleanup, maybe they should get serious about another place in the Denver area. An article by Ann Imse of the Rocky Mountain News in this morning's paper follows:

AG ANGLES FOR FUNDS TO SUE OVER ARSENAL

"Ducks that landed on the ponds burned their feathers on the toxins. Poisons from chemical weapons seeped into the groundwater, damaging crops and ruining wells for drilnking water. Sarin nerve-gas bomblets turned up in the dirt and rubble. Fish from the lakes could not be eaten because their mercury levels were so high."

"That's the kind of damage that occurred at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, where the Army made nerve gas until 1957, napalm until 1968 and deactivated such weapons until 1984 -- all just eight miles northeast of downtown Denver."

"On top of that, Shell used the site to make pesticides, some so lethal they were later banned."

"Now, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers wants to reopen a 22-year-old lawsuit seeking cash compensation from the Army and Shell for natural resource damages."

"At a legislative hearing on the topic Wednesday, Suthers was asked if the amount of the damages could reach $100 million.

"His reply, "That's certainly moderate."

"Since collecting such a sum may be difficult, said Suthers' spokesman, Kristin Hubbell, the state is in negotiations, hoping to settle out of court.

"Nevertheless, Suthers asked the legislature on Wednesday for $1 million to pay the state's legal expenses in pursuing the case and warned that he may be back asking for similar amounts for up to 10 more years."

"Even if it costs $10 million to win the lawsuit, Suthers said, it would be a good investment for the state."

"The 27-square-mile arsenal, a Superfund site north of the old Stapleton Airport, has seen 5,000 of its least-contaminated acres converted to a wildlife refuge. But more than 10,000 acres still are being cleaned up as part of a $2.2 billion job expected to continuie to 2011."

"In comparison, the notorious Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant on the northwest side of Denver, torn down at a cost of more than $6 billion, "did not make anywhere near the mess" as the chemicals at the arsenal, said Senior Assistant Attorney General Vicky Peters."

"The arsenal, she said, dumped chemicals on the ground and into lake-sized unlined basins that leaked into the g;roundwater. "Contaminated soils blew all over the place," she said."

"This toxic stew began brewing in 1942 when the arsenal was created to manufacture mustard gas, which causes blistering , blindness and respiratory problems."

"Later, the arsenal grew into a sprawling plant making far more lethal sarin nerve gas. That gas, never used by the United States, causes victims to stagger and jerk as their muscles convulse. They die of respiratory arrest."

"As late as 1984, sarin was drained from munitions on the site and chemically deactivated. But six sarin bomblets were found in the rubble on the site just five years ago."

"Much of the contamination is being buried in a landfill on the site that is part triple lined, Peters said.

"The worst of the worst is going in there," she said."

"Some 750 million gallons of groundwater are treated every year at the arsenal, according to its Web site. Owners of nearby contaminated wells had to be provided with alternative sources of water, Peters said."

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Having lived in Commerce City several times in years past I kept up on the published news. I remember it surfacing in the papers that a contaminated plume of groundwater was headed for the Platte River (which is downhill from the arsenal) all sorts of activity ensued at the arsenal after that revelation.

I knew personally of one man who was almost totally incapacitated by exposure to harmful chemicals there at the arsenal. He was way younger than me, died a few years ago.

We lived there in the windy parts of the year too, wonder how much of that stuff we breathed in ? Our kids were young then. Our son Rob was in elementary school there in Commerce City. Wonder if he breathed enough of that in to start his cancer ?

I also remember that people who lived and depended on well water west of the arsenal began to have all sorts of ailments in greater proportions than people not living in that area.

I don't know if cash will ever heal the damage caused by the carless handling of lethal chemicals that went on at the arsenal. And I am not too sure that the Army will learn a lesson by settling a lawsuit and throwing money at our state. Just like all governmental agencies, all they have to do is scare us enough with perceived threats to our country so that we will allow anything to be done by whoever.

Perhaps the citizenry of our country should institute a PREMPTIVE STRIKE AGAINST THAT SORT OF THING . . . . . . . . . .

Then along with that, if the State does win the case or settles out of court for a vast sum, will the money be used to benefit us all ?

This Wondering Jew, does wonder HOW THIS WILL ALL COME OUT ? . . . . . . . .

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