Rocky Flats

Rocky Flats handles more plutonium than any other facility in the Western world. It manufactures the uranium and plutonium "pits" used in the fission triggers of thermonuclear bombs. The pit is the ball of uranium or plutonium inside the bomb's sphere of chemical high explosives. Rocky Flats also fabricates beryllium neutron reflectors to increase the yield of exploding fission triggers. The plant employs 6,000 people. It is 126 miles upwind from Denver and half a mile form the Great Western Reservoir, visible above the plant. This reservoir serves the nearby town of Broomfield (pop.26, 000). Golden, Colorado. July 17, 1983.