Computer modeling provided valuable information about where contaminants would travel given different weather patterns. Throughout both phases of the studies, public input was solicited and incorporated into the research process. Interested citizens were invited to public meetings and technical work sessions over the nine-year study period. Information also was reported through quarterly newsletters, fact sheets and technical topic papers. Panel members gave more than 50 presentations to more than 1,500 citizens in communities near Rocky Flats.
Information also is available through a web site.
The staff at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment answered questions for many concerned citizens and provided them with reports and information about the studies. In addition, the Citizens' Environmental Sampling Committee was formed in 1992 to conduct an independent study of plutonium levels found in soil around Rocky Flats. Made up of homeowners, public interest groups, local health departments, interested citizens and Health Advisory Panel members, the committee arranged for sampling and analysis of soil near the plant to measure the amount of plutonium and other radioactive materials present. Some sediment samples from nearby Standley Lake also were analyzed. The results were largely consistent with the concentrations and distribution of radioactive materials found by other soil studies of the area.