The Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA), an ex-chemical weapons manufacturing site, is located north of Denver, Colorado. It was created in response to World War II's European campaign. The Arsenal is now a national wildlife refuge. In addition to producing chemical weapons, RMA was also used as a weapons research and development base.
The Army and contractors currently lease the site, which is then used as a national wildlife refuge. The site has an area of approximately 1,100 acre. U.S. Army operates an on site landfill, two waste consolidating areas, and five groundwater treatments facilities.
RMA was created in 1942 in order to produce chemicals for war efforts. By 2010, the cleanup of the site had been completed. About 650 hazardous wastes were disposed off as a direct result of the operation. These hazardous materials included solid wastes as well as explosive and other chemicals. Napalm, a toxic pesticide, rocket-fuel and chemical munition were just a few of the compounds created at the RMA. Many of the contaminated materials spread to the soil and into water.
The Army tried a pilot effort to manage these toxic materials in the mid-1960s. They devised a plan for injecting chemicals into the RMA's deep injection well. The injection activity was stopped after several earthquakes. The waste disposal methods were somewhat ad-hoc. The site contained several open basins, including Basin A which covered 93 acres and Basin F which was a large open lake. They were all contaminated. Additionally, these basins contained large amounts of groundwater. This resulted in groundwater contamination of the surrounding area.
RMA was a former site for chemical weapons manufacturing and had a major impact on the community. Several farmers were affected by the contamination. However, there were no reported deaths. Additionally, livestock also died on nearby ranches. The contamination caused fourteen interim responses to be carried out by the Army and XXX Oil Company.
The facility produced products for agriculture such as herbicides and chemical wastes. These chemicals were then transported to another location via rail spur. During the transfer process of chemicals to railcars, some buildings of the RMA were damaged.
Some of these facilities were leased out to the XXX Petroleum Company, who later used them to make pesticides. The site was declared a national wildlife refuge after the RMA was no longer used as a military base.
While the RMA's wastes were removed from the site, the chemical contamination spread into the surrounding area. Several areas were contaminated and required groundwater extraction. Groundwater P&T system were installed near the RMA’s northwest and north boundaries. Operable Units 2 & 3 were also affected. These areas also had affected domestic wells due to the off-site ROD.
The RMA's Emergency Management/Contingency Plan describes the U.S. Army's response to the contaminated land, and provides guidance to the managers of the RMA National Wildlife Refuge.