Boulder's former Deputy Mayor Lisa Morzel
Here's part of the video of the May 3, 2011 Boulder, Colorado City Council meeting when they gave up their longtime resistance to the proposed Jefferson Parkway and gave their go-ahead to start plowing up the dirt at Rocky Flats, the former town-sized nuclear bomb factory 8 miles South of Boulder, in trade for a deal for more open space land.
Then-Deputy Mayor Dr. Lisa Morzel, a volcanologist working for the USGS, misrepresents what the background level of plutonium is in our area.
Dr. Morzel says "Background levels are 35 picocuries [per gram of soil]" It's easy to find online (or from any expert) that the real background level is .04 picocuries (for example, see here, under 3. Rocky Flats.) She says this to misleadingly show that the federal government's claimed cleanup level of 50 picocuries per gram is almost to background level, when it is actually 1250 times higher! (50 divided by .04)
Both Dr. Harvey Nichols and Dr. Leroy Moore, likely the most knowledgeable people in the world about Rocky Flats, asked Dr. Morzel for a correction, but she refused to do anything until I made this webpage. She claims she finally made a correction late during a council meeting about a year after this lie, but angrily refused to tell us which meeting and at what time so that we can confirm that from video.
The truth is crucial, because these plutonium particles are the optimum size (down to tenths of a micron, at least) to stay in the air and be distributed beyond the weapons plant (even without the Flats' regular 80 MPH winds, dust devils and occasional tornadoes) and to be possibly inhaled and retained in people's lungs. Plowing through this dirt is a reckless gamble. Cancer would be a likely risk for many road workers, and possible downwind in the Denver metro area.
It's impossible to detect Plutonium with a Geiger radiation meter under field conditions as compared to in the lab. See here. So nobody can know what radiation levels exist where they're digging down.
It's not too late to stop this atrocity! Just a few days ago the town of Superior, just downwind of Rocky Flats, filed suit for a real Environmental Impact Statement. I urge anyone in the world -as you are all potential victims- to contact the Boulder City Council and demand they redo their decision on the basis of actual science, not lies: council@bouldercolorado.gov Or call them:
Mayor Matt Appelbaum- 303-499-8970
Deputy Mayor Lisa Morzel- 303-815-6723
Suzy Ageton- 303-442-5726
Macon Cowles- 303-638-6884
Suzanne Jones- 720-633-7388
George Karakehian- 303-218-8612
Tim Plass- 720-299-4518
Ken Wilson- 303-999-1931
The movie No Water to Waste is about the whole development plan, especially the water element. The Plutonium part starts 20 minutes in.
For background here is the complete, uncensored Rocky Flats Grand Jury Report
Plutonium was a rare trace mineral on earth until it was first produced in quantity by mankind in 1945, expressly for more efficient atomic bombs. It can burst into flame on contact with air and is a heavy metal poison as well as being highly dangerous when in direct contact with mammalian tissue. A single particle lodged in the lungs will radiate the cells next to it for the rest of one's life; after decades cancer is likely.
If the City Council wants to make the same decision, with the deadly health implications, they should do it on the basis of facts, not ignorance or faith in federal misinformation. Remember that far less egregious lying in the so-called "Climategate" emails was a main factor in the public turning against climate science, and the US blocking a treaty to stop climate catastrophe. Millions will die as a result.
This is just one reason why I've come to regard Boulder as a world center of greenwashing. More to come...
The truth is crucial, because these plutonium particles are the optimum size (down to tenths of a micron, at least) to stay in the air and be distributed beyond the weapons plant (even without the Flats' regular 80 MPH winds, dust devils and occasional tornadoes) and to be possibly inhaled and retained in people's lungs. Plowing through this dirt is a reckless gamble. Cancer would be a likely risk for many road workers, and possible downwind in the Denver metro area.
It's impossible to detect Plutonium with a Geiger radiation meter under field conditions as compared to in the lab. See here. So nobody can know what radiation levels exist where they're digging down.
It's not too late to stop this atrocity! Just a few days ago the town of Superior, just downwind of Rocky Flats, filed suit for a real Environmental Impact Statement. I urge anyone in the world -as you are all potential victims- to contact the Boulder City Council and demand they redo their decision on the basis of actual science, not lies: council@bouldercolorado.gov Or call them:
Mayor Matt Appelbaum- 303-499-8970
Deputy Mayor Lisa Morzel- 303-815-6723
Suzy Ageton- 303-442-5726
Macon Cowles- 303-638-6884
Suzanne Jones- 720-633-7388
George Karakehian- 303-218-8612
Tim Plass- 720-299-4518
Ken Wilson- 303-999-1931
The movie No Water to Waste is about the whole development plan, especially the water element. The Plutonium part starts 20 minutes in.
For background here is the complete, uncensored Rocky Flats Grand Jury Report
Plutonium was a rare trace mineral on earth until it was first produced in quantity by mankind in 1945, expressly for more efficient atomic bombs. It can burst into flame on contact with air and is a heavy metal poison as well as being highly dangerous when in direct contact with mammalian tissue. A single particle lodged in the lungs will radiate the cells next to it for the rest of one's life; after decades cancer is likely.
If the City Council wants to make the same decision, with the deadly health implications, they should do it on the basis of facts, not ignorance or faith in federal misinformation. Remember that far less egregious lying in the so-called "Climategate" emails was a main factor in the public turning against climate science, and the US blocking a treaty to stop climate catastrophe. Millions will die as a result.
This is just one reason why I've come to regard Boulder as a world center of greenwashing. More to come...
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10 comments:
Thanks for sharing this information.. I had a friend who was involved with the clean-up crew out there, and even he wasn't convinced it was all good when their job was declared "done". After that mess over in Japan, this is the last thing we need our leaders approving right now.. plenty of radiation in the air already to go around.. leave Rocky Flats alone. Let it rot away in isolation.
Plutonium dust is something to be very, very careful of. It literally only takes a speck of it to get into someone's lungs to cause serious problems like a cancer maybe 10 or 20 years later.
Plutonium emits what's called Alpha and Beta radiation. These types of radiation are stoppable by the thickness of a sheet of paper, or by the layer of skin on our bodies. These particles become far more serious when they get inside your body, as now there is no longer that protection of a our skin from the radiation. A speck of plutonium dust gets into your lungs, and then it sits there pumping the surrounding unprotected tissue with radiation. It may take decades to take full effect, but the effect can be a cancer.
I think its insane to be stirring up that dust to construct a road. Think about the amount of dust you see blowing off a construction site. That's putting everyone downwind in danger.
When they talk about 'safe' amounts of radiation, what they are really talking about is what's safe to them in that they can duck the blame for the resulting cancers and leukemia and birth defects. At low enough levels of radiation, its impossible to prove that these come from a particular source like Rocky Flats. That's what they mean by 'safe' levels of radiation ... they mean they are safe from being blamed. But that doesn't mean there won't be more cancers and leukemia and birth defects.
Samson's commment is very important! It's impossible to detect Plutonium unless it's sitting right on top of the ground. See here
Evan, I think that your emphasis on accusing Lisa Morzel, a councilwoman who in my experience has been genuinely helpful to many Boulder residents, of "blatantly lying" in an email that also uses the phrase "tantamount to murder" is bad judgement on your part. I'm as concerned as you seem to be about the environmental issues at Rocky Flats and agree that the Jefferson Parkway shouldn't proceed without further, really definitive impact studies, and shouldn't proceed at all if there is ANY risk to the health of workers and our local population. But I think the tone of your email is divisive, which can detract from the real value of your message rather than helping to bring people together to address this problem.
Reading the information at the CCNS website as you recommend, I see that you are correct in stating that existing background levels are said to be at 0.04 pCi/g. Two paragraphs later the text reads that "RAC recommended a cleanup level of 35 pCi/g of plutonium in soil."
So it would appear that Lisa Morzel may have confused, or failed to clearly distinguish between existing background levels and the recommended cleanup level, and you make no mention of this yourself in your email, which makes me wonder how "closely" you watched the video and how selectively you read the CCNS documentation.
The real issue it seems to me is the need to question the RAC recommendation which seems inadequate to say the least—a tolerance of 35 pCi/g certainly seems way too high, let alone 50!—in a situation where the ground will be massively disturbed for road-building. Lisa should clarify her remarks, and your message can help to get this done. A "scientific" discussion might start from clarifying this kind of misunderstanding rather than broadcasting derogatory and divisive judgements about the motives of other people. Wouldn't you agree?
Evan, I think that your emphasis on accusing Lisa Morzel, a councilwoman who in my experience has been genuinely helpful to many Boulder residents, of "blatantly lying" in an email that also uses the phrase "tantamount to murder" is bad judgement on your part. I'm as concerned as you seem to be about the environmental issues at Rocky Flats and agree that the Jefferson Parkway shouldn't proceed without further, really definitive impact studies, and shouldn't proceed at all if there is ANY risk to the health of workers and our local population. But I think the tone of your email is divisive, which can detract from the real value of your message rather than helping to bring people together to address this problem.
Reading the information at the CCNS website as you recommend, I see that you are correct in stating that existing background levels are said to be at 0.04 pCi/g. Two paragraphs later the text reads that "RAC recommended a cleanup level of 35 pCi/g of plutonium in soil."
So it would appear that Lisa Morzel may have confused, or failed to clearly distinguish between existing background levels and the recommended cleanup level, and you make no mention of this yourself in your email, which makes me wonder how "closely" you watched the video and how selectively you read the CCNS documentation.
The real issue it seems to me is the need to question the RAC recommendation which seems inadequate to say the least—a tolerance of 35 pCi/g certainly seems way too high, let alone 50!—in a situation where the ground will be massively disturbed for road-building. Lisa should clarify her remarks, and your message can help to get this done. A "scientific" discussion might start from clarifying this kind of misunderstanding rather than broadcasting derogatory and divisive judgements about the motives of other people. Wouldn't you agree?
JY, several other people wrote to Lisa after what she now says she "mistated," and got evasive responses. By calling a lie a lie, and getting others aroused about this, she now admits she was in error and says she will "clarify" things at the Jan 3 City Council Meeting. I believe her changing response shows either deliberate lying or feeling she's entitled to misrepresent things -if she accidentally did.
It's obvious, since NOTHING else has changed, it's the bribe of the land which changed their minds. Unfortunately science doesn't get people to act, emotion does. Yes, I'm ANGRY when people my taxes pay lie on the record and vote to endanger my and everyone's health and life.
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention Evan. Sometimes presenting a pole position on an issue is of value as it sets up the bounds of dialogue. But to gracefully resolve a political issue, it is best to have both - a clear sense of the range of dialogue and then also a platform built with civility, respect and statesmanship - then folks from many different positions can feel appreciated and comfortable coming to some common ground on that platform. There is always common ground.
It's worth carefully looking at what JY is offering here. Better to avoid extreme divisive language, it just makes it harder to get people together to do what is most important. However (see below) there is value in laying out a range of opinions on an issue, yet the extreme positions are unfortunately often communicated with extreme language. In the view of most in the 'middle positions' on an issue, this discredits those more edge positions, which sometimes are quite valid such as the underlying important position on offer on this page, eg: don't dig up the soil at Rocky Flats, period.
In considering a proposal to create a major soil disruption at the Flats, a solid EIS is very important. For regional issues, having the road and the protected open space might be valuable - worth taking appropriate additional measures like using alternative road construction techniques, if they exist, to avoid disturbing existing surface soils, if that is even possible. Of course, an issue like this can boil down to politics, which could potentially distort the EIS process, so great caution is required on this slippery slope.
It is basic scientific reality that widely dispersed plutonium contamination is essentially permanent and irreversible. I personally consider the zone of dust plume downwind of Rocky Flats unsafe, an area unsuitable to raise a family, NOW.
This post was sent to all City Council members. IF they DIDN'T know Lisa was "mistating" the facts, you would think they would be calling for a do-over of the decision. NONE has. This shows "guilty affect," that they all knew Lisa was "mistating" facts and relied on the people not to know and to accept their decision, as it was based on DR. Morzel's "data." I agree with Sampson's comment, that Council only cares that THEY are safe from blame, not about us, or even their own kids.
PS: It's now August and Lisa Morzel has NOT corrected her previous statement as she promised.
PS: It's now August and Lisa Morzel has NOT corrected her previous statement as she promised.
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