A later study on the risks to public health from Rocky Flats estimated that normal operations leaked up to 130,000 microcuries of plutonium annually into the atmosphere as part of its production processes during the 1950s.

Until the construction of a waste treatment facility in 1957, plutonium contaminated wastewater was discharged directly into Walnut creek which followed to Broomfield's drinking water supply.

[29] On September 11, 1957, a plutonium fire occurred in one of the gloveboxes used to handle radioactive materials, igniting the combustible rubber gloves and plexiglas windows of the box.

[47] The U.S. congress ordered an investigation into the accident, which found government officials helped cover up details of the fire by abusing classified information protocols.

[31] National Center for Atmospheric Research scientists stated that plant officials also mislead the public in press statements about the size and damage from the fire.

[31] AEC officials such as Major General Giller and Chairman Seaborg publicly emphasized the need to keep Rocky Flats running and not allow the damage from the fire to delay the Safeguard Program.

[45] The Colorado Department of Health announced their surprise when they learned, only after Giller's new policy, that Rocky Flats was burying radioactive waste in violation of state law.

[41][31] The AEC investigation stated that the tritium originated at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, and 500-2000 curries were accidentally shipped to Rocky Flats in contaminated plutonium.

Their internal investigation also stated this was not the first time tritium was accidentally shipped to Rocky Flats but that it had not been previously discovered because prior shipments contained 29-57 curries.

Kristen Iversen, author of Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats, contends later studies confirmed many of his findings.

In addition, the court agreed with the Colorado State epidemiologist that "no measurable increases in cancer incidence resulting from operations at Rocky Flats have been demonstrated by any appropriate scientific method.

In December 1988, the FBI commenced clandestine flights of light aircraft over the area and confirmed via infrared video recordings that the "outdated and unpermitted" Building 771 incinerator was apparently being used late into the night.

[79] After several months of collecting evidence both from workers and via direct measurement in 1989, the FBI informed the DOE on June 6 that they wanted to meet to discuss a potential terrorist threat.

This amount was less than the company had been paid in bonuses for running the plant as determined by the Government Accounting Office (GAO), and yet was also by far the highest hazardous-waste fine ever; four times larger than the previous record.

[86] Due to indemnification of nuclear contractors, without some form of settlement being arrived at between the U.S. Justice Department and Rockwell, the cost of paying any civil penalties would ultimately have been borne by U.S. taxpayers.

[87][88][89][81][90][91][92] Regardless, and as forewarned by the prosecuting U.S. Attorney, Ken Fimberg/Scott,[93] the Department of Justice's stated findings and plea agreement with Rockwell were heavily contested by its own, 23-member special grand jury.

The hearings, whose findings include that the Justice Department had "bargained away the truth",[95] ultimately still did not fully reveal to the public the special grand jury's report, which remains sealed by the DOJ courts.

According to its subsequent publications, the Rocky Flats special grand jury had compiled indictments charging three DOE officials and five Rockwell employees with environmental crimes.

[98] The DOE itself, in a study released in December of the year prior to the FBI raid, had called Rocky Flats' ground water the single greatest environmental hazard at any of its nuclear facilities.

[citation needed] However, some activists dispute the reasons for records confidentiality:[100] Dr. LeRoy Moore, a Boulder theologian and peace activist;[101] retired FBI Special Agent Jon Lipsky,[98] who led the FBI's raid of the Rocky Flats plant to investigate illegal plutonium burning and other environmental crimes; and Wes McKinley, who was the foreman of the grand jury investigation into the operations at Rocky Flats (and served several terms as Colorado State Representative).

[citation needed] In 1991, an interagency agreement between DOE, the Colorado Department of Health, and the EPA outlined multiyear schedules for environmental restoration studies and remediation activities.

[citation needed] In 1992, due to an order by President G. H. W. Bush, production of submarine-based missiles using the W88 trigger was discontinued, leading to the layoff of 4,500 employees at the plant; 4,000 others were retained for long-term cleanup of the facility.

[11] About 1,300 acres (2 sq mi; 5 km2) of the original site, the former industrial area, remains under U.S. DOE Office of Legacy Management control for ongoing environmental monitoring and remediation.

The agreement establishes the regulatory framework for implementing the final remedy for the Rocky Flats site and ensuring the protection of human health and the environment.

In September 2010, after a 20-year legal battle, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a $926 million award in a class-action lawsuit against Dow Chemical and Rockwell International.

This settlement ended a 26-year legal battle between residents and the two corporations that ran the Rocky Flats Plant, Dow Chemical and Rockwell International, for the Department of Energy.

The study found "the incidence of all cancers-combined for both adults and children was no different in the communities surrounding Rocky Flats than would be expected based on cancer rates in the remainder of the Denver Metro area for 1990 to 2014.

[125] In January 2019, activist groups questioning the contamination risk assessment for the wildlife refuge filed a lawsuit to unseal documents from the grand jury investigation.

Representatives of the unions in Washington DC went to mediation, but the Sheet Metal Workers Local rejected their resolution requiring them to return to work without the baffle manufacturing job.

When their contract with United Steel Workers of America expired, in 1973, the union rejected a 7% raise because they wanted Dow to agree to follow the AEC's safety recommendations.