The Nation - News from Aug. 2, 1989

A special grand jury was impaneled to hear numerous allegations of safety violations at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in Colorado, including the illegal dumping of hazardous wastes. Chief U.S. District Judge Sherman G. Finesilver told the 23 grand jurors their only task during the 18-month term would be “to determine what criminal acts, if any, were committed at Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant.” The plant, which manufactures plutonium detonators for nuclear weapons, is 16 miles northwest of Denver. About 75 FBI agents and special officers from the Environmental Protection Agency raided the plant on June 6 after a search warrant was issued on an affidavit containing more than 100 pages of allegations. The affidavit accused officials and employees of illegally dumping hazardous wastes into streams and altering documents.