Making the impossible possible

摘要

From 1952 to 1989, the Rocky Flats facility in Colorado, USA, produced plutonium and enriched uranium triggers for the US nuclear weapons arsenal. When the site was closed in 1989, more than 40 years of production had left a legacy of contaminated buildings, soil and groundwater, along with more radioactive waste than at any other facility in the country at the time. The site contained some of the most dangerous buildings in America and it was estimated that the cleanup of the facility would require more than 70 years and cost at least US$36bn.