Second Regular Session Sixty-seventh General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED LLS NO. 10-0369.01 Duane Gall HOUSE BILL 10-1127 HOUSE SPONSORSHIP McKinley, SENATE SPONSORSHIP (None), House Committees Senate Committees State, Veterans, & Military Affairs A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning information to be provided to visitors at Rocky Flats. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The bill requires the posting of signs and supplementary brochures at entrances to the Rocky Flats national wildlife refuge that contain specified information about the presence of, and risks posed by, plutonium and other toxic substances that were used in the production of nuclear weapons at the site. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds, determines, and declares that: (a) The state of Colorado will be welcoming many visitors to this state who may decide to visit the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge (refuge) and citizens of Colorado may also choose to do so; (b) Current plans for the management of the refuge include promoting field trips for Colorado school children; (c) It is in the public interest and in furtherance of well-known public health goals to fully inform members of the public who are deciding whether to visit the refuge about the history of the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant and about the risk of exposure to contaminants being left on the site. SECTION 2. 25-11-103, Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended BY THE ADDITION OF THE FOLLOWING NEW SUBSECTIONS to read: 25-11-103. Radiation control agency - powers and duties - advisories concerning Rocky Flats. (9) When a national wildlife refuge is established on lands formerly occupied by the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in Jefferson county pursuant to the federal "Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act of 2001", Pub.L. 107-107, the department shall ensure that members of the public, prior to entering the refuge, are provided with complete and objectively supportable information including, but not limited to, the following: (a) (I) At least one prominent and clearly legible sign at each foot or vehicular access point to the refuge, bearing the following notice: PUBLIC ADVISORY The State of Colorado wishes to provide you with information concerning the history of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, formerly Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant, the radioactive and other hazardous materials that were used and released at the site when it was in operation, and the cleanup that has occurred. Some contamination may remain in the soil and groundwater. Detailed information is provided in the containers located near this sign. (II) The design and construction of the signs referred to in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) shall be developed in collaboration with, and shall be subject to the approval of, the executive director of the Colorado department of transportation or his or her designee. (b) In one or more weatherproof containers located at the base of, or in close proximity to, each of the signs referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection (9), written pamphlets, audio recordings, or both, in a form readily accessible by members of the public and carrying the following message, at a minimum: "Informed Consent Public Advisory The State of Colorado has determined that members of the public should be informed of the following facts when deciding whether to enter Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge: Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge was a nuclear weapons manufacturing plant from 1950-1991. During that time, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractors buried, burned, and sprayed plutonium and other radioactive and hazardous materials on-site at Rocky Flats. Some of these actions were legal, others illegal. Since 1992, the DOE has undertaken cleanup of the site. The DOE, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the State of Colorado acknowledge that, after the cleanup is complete, detectable levels of plutonium and other radioactive and hazardous materials will remain in the surface and subsurface soils and in the groundwater, and may be present in dust that becomes airborne at the site. Persons accessing Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge may become exposed to radioactive and other hazardous materials through dust in the air or through contact with the soils. The radioactive and hazardous materials are invisible to the naked eye and may be carried home in dirt on shoes and belongings. Plutonium remains radioactive for tens of thousands of years, and it can be harmful in very small amounts if inhaled, ingested, or otherwise taken into the body, such as through an open wound. There is controversy within the scientific community concerning acceptable levels of risk from such exposure and the methods of calculating that risk, and there is considerable scientific uncertainty associated with these issues. According to national and international standard-setting bodies, there is no safe level of human exposure to plutonium or other materials that produce ionizing radiation. Cancer and genetic defects are known effects of exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation. Children and the already infirm are the most at risk from low levels of ionizing radiation. The EPA and the State of Colorado, using mathematical modeling, have determined that cleanup of what is now the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge has made the refuge safe for visitors and wildlife refuge workers. These agencies have also determined that the cleanup complies with the written agreement between the EPA, the DOE, and the State. In light of the scientific uncertainties and the controversies about risk, members of the public considering a visit to Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge should decide for themselves whether the risks are acceptable to them and their families." (10) (a) The department shall attempt to obtain reimbursement for the costs incurred in carrying out the directives of subsection (9) of this section from the United States department of energy pursuant to the "Rocky Flats Cleanup Agreement" and any other authority. In addition, the department may accept private gifts, grants, and donations for the purpose of carrying out the directives of subsection (9) of this section. Any such gifts, grants, and donations shall be separately held and accounted for. (b) It is the intent of the general assembly that the department not be required to solicit gifts, grants, or donations from any source for the purposes of this section and that no general fund moneys be used to pay for signs or other materials purchased in accordance with subsection (9) of this section. (c) If, within twelve months after the opening of the refuge to the public, the amount of moneys collected by the department from the United States department of energy and private gifts, grants, and donations is not sufficient to purchase the signs required by paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of this section and at least a thirty-day supply of the pamphlets, recordings, or other materials reasonably anticipated to be required under paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of this section, the department shall not undertake any duties pursuant to subsection (9) of this section and shall return to each grantor or donor an amount equal to such grantor's or donor's contribution. The interest, if any, earned from the investment of gifts, grants, and donations shall be transferred to the general fund. (11) Except in the event of a failure to obtain necessary funding as specified in paragraph (c) of subsection (10) of this section: (a) The department shall use all reasonable efforts to ensure that the informed consent public advisory pamphlets and recordings specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of this section are included in the materials distributed to the public at any cold war museum or Rocky Flats museum that may be constructed; and (b) No minor person enrolled in any school in Colorado may enter the Rocky Flats national wildlife refuge as part of a school field trip without first receiving a written copy of the informed consent public advisory information specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of this section. SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.