Epidemiologic Studies

Rocky Flats Plant Site

INTRODUCTION

Overview
This is the second in a series of seven volumes which constitute a guide to records of the Rocky Flats Plant useful for conducting health-related research. The primary purpose of Volume II is to describe record series pertaining to administrative and general activities at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Rocky Flats Plant, now named the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, near Denver, Colorado. History Associates Incorporated (HAI) prepared this guide as part of its work as the support services contractor for DOE's Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project.

This introduction briefly describes the Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project and HAI's role in the project, provides a history of administrative practices at Rocky Flats, and identifies organizations contributing to administrative policies and activities. Other topics include the scope and arrangement of this volume and the organization to contact for access to these records. Comprehensive introductory and background information is available in Volume I.

Other volumes in the guide pertain to administrative and general subjects, facilities and equipment, waste management, production and materials handling, workplace and environmental monitoring, and employee health. In addition, HAI has produced a subject-specific guide titled The September 1957 Rocky Flats Fire: A Guide to Record Series of the Department of Energy and Its Contractors, which researchers should consult for further information about records related to this incident.

The Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project
The Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project is indicative of DOE Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary's efforts to support openness initiatives in the areas of environment, safety, and health. In view of the importance of various administrative, organizational, and operational records to epidemiologic and health-related studies, a moratorium on the destruction of such records has been in effect since 1989.

In May 1992, the DOE Office of Epidemiology and Health Surveillance (EH-42), responsible for the coordination of health-related activities throughout the DOE complex, directed each DOE and DOE contractor site to prepare an inventory of all records useful for worker or community health-related studies. EH-42 prepared and furnished each site with guidelines that defined epidemiologic records, provided instructions for describing record series, outlined the sites' role in inventorying epidemiologic records, and discussed the relationship of the epidemiologic inventory to DOE's comprehensive records inventory. The epidemiologic inventories should be completed in 1995. It should be noted, however, that some of the information contained in the site records inventories, such as the location of active (still in use) records or the volume of the records, may change over time. The continued usefulness of the inventories and this guide depends on their systematic update.

Role of HAI
In August 1993, DOE selected HAI as its support services contractor for the Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project. HAI, a professional records management, archives, and historical research services firm incorporated in 1981, has provided records management, historical research, and technical support for a number of DOE projects. HAI's role in the project includes verifying the accuracy, comprehensiveness, and quality of existing inventories, providing guidance to site records management teams, and, in some cases, performing additional records inventories.

BACKGROUND

Administrative History
When the Rocky Flats Plant began operations in 1952, it was organized according to a pattern established by the Manhattan Engineer District (MED) and inherited by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). During the Second World War, the MED contracted with private firms for the construction, management, and operation of government-owned research and production facilities at Hanford, Oak Ridge, and Los Alamos. Contractor budgets and expenditures, plant operations, and performance were closely monitored by MED personnel. In 1947, the civilian AEC replaced the military as the agency responsible for the nation's nuclear research, development, and production complex. The first commissioners, reluctant to significantly alter existing administrative structures and viewing "decentralization and contractor operation as good practices in public administration," decided to retain the government-owned, contractor-operated policy for new and operating facilities.(1)

In keeping with this philosophy, the AEC chose Dow Chemical Company as the prime operating contractor at Rocky Flats. Dow remained onsite for twenty-three years, overseeing a threefold growth in facilities and employment. Rockwell International Corporation replaced Dow as the prime contractor in 1975. In response to Cold War policies, facility and work force expansion reached record levels in the 1980s. The plant ceased production in November 1989, partly as a result of safety concerns. EG&G Corporation then assumed responsibility for overseeing decommissioning and environmental restoration activities.(2)

Unlike the research and development missions of the national laboratories at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos, Rocky Flats was primarily a production facility for weapon components, forming fissile materials into triggers, or pits. Plutonium for the components came from the Hanford Reservation, the Savannah River Plant, and materials recycled from other components removed from the weapons inventory and dismantled at Rocky Flats. Although the plant primarily formed and machined pits, it also produced related weapon components.(3)

Administrative Organizations

Dow Chemical Company (1952-1975)

Under Dow, the management structure remained stable while expanding slightly to accommodate the growing size of the facility. A general manager had responsibility for the overall operation of the facility. Senior managers at the plant served on the Rocky Flats Division Management Board.

Rockwell International Corporation (1975-1989)
Rockwell took over as the prime contractor at Rocky Flats in 1975. The new contractor changed the management structure to include a larger number of organizations reporting directly to the general manager. Under the company's management, the work force grew to almost 6,000 in an effort to meet the demands of the Reagan Administration's defense policies.(4)

In 1989, Rockwell became the focus of allegations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of mismanagement, negligence, and criminal practices. On June 6, 1989, FBI agents raided Rocky Flats, seizing an unknown quantity of official DOE records. After the initial raid, records management officials made photocopies of some of the records being seized by the agents. The original records are still in government custody.

EG&G Corporation (1990-1995)
EG&G's management and operations contract became effective on January 1, 1990. Prior to the start of the contract, DOE ordered the cessation of operations at the plant until all safety requirements were met. After initially focusing on resuming operations, EG&G shifted emphasis to decommissioning, decontamination, and environmental restoration. DOE submitted deactivation and cleanup plans to Congress in 1992. In 1994, the site's name was changed to the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site to reflect the new priorities.(5)

The changing priorities resulted in at least eight reorganizations of the management structure, including five during 1990 alone. Most of the changes involved the addition, combination, or elimination of organizations. When EG&G assumed the operation of the facility, management responsibilities were essentially separated into production and waste management functions. After the transition, management evolved into an organization primarily focused on facility and project management, environmental and waste concerns, and quality assurance and auditing functions. Management units, headed by assistant and associate general managers, reported directly to the site general manager. EG&G elected not to seek renewal of its contract, which was to expire in 1995. A five-year contract for management of Rocky Flats was awarded to Kaiser-Hill which took over plant operations in July 1995.

ACCESS

For more complete information regarding access to the records, please refer to Volume I. The Department of Energy's Rocky Flats Plant: A Guide to Record Series Useful for Health-Related Research.

For specific information or permission to review Rocky Flats records, contact:

U.S. Department of Energy
Records Management Department
Contracts and Services Division
Rocky Flats Office
P.O. Box 928
Golden, CO 80402-0928
Telephone Number: (303) 966-6177

SCOPE

In the course of conducting and overseeing operations at Rocky Flats, site contractors and the AEC and its successor agencies produced records documenting the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies, procedures, and programs to insure safe and productive operations at the facility. These records, along with selected correspondence files, reports, audit records, meeting minutes, and reading files, have been described in this volume. The records address topics such as pending litigation, the plant's environmental impact, quality assurance evaluations, waste management issues, health and safety practices, and budgeting and planning. In addition, record series which encompass several subject areas and cannot be placed in another topically related volume may be found here.

This volume reflects information collected from research conducted during site visits from March 1994 through January 1995. Users of this guide should note that omissions are likely due to the nature of the records targeted for research. For example, the June 6, 1989, seizure of records by the FBI rendered an unknown quantity of records unavailable for review by HAI staff. Moreover, HAI team members did not inventory records stored in radiation-controlled areas.

HAI relied on existing finding aids prepared for Rocky Flats records. HAI was unable to verify that these research tools include all records that may exist. In addition, researchers should note that records at all of the repositories listed in this guide may be moved, transferred to a different location, reviewed for changes in disposition authority, and changed to a different format (i.e., from paper to microfilm).

ARRANGEMENT

1. Richard G. Hewlett and Francis Duncan, A History of the Atomic Energy Commission, Vol. 2, Atomic Shield, 1947-1952 (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1962), 19.
2. ChemRisk, Project Tasks 3 & 4: Final Draft Report: Reconstruction of Historical Rocky Flats Operations and Identification of Release Points (1992), 47-50, 55.
3. Ibid., 43-47.
4. Ibid., 50, 53.
5. Michelle A. Hanson, "Site History of Rocky Flats" (Washington, DC: United States Department of Energy, History Division, January 1993), 17.