Colorado

(SEC) = The Special Exposure Cohort. This is a defined category of employees established under the EEOICPA White Card Program. The SEC is comprised of classes of employees who have at least one of the 22 SEC cancers and have worked for a specific period of time at one of the SEC facilities. Claims compensated under the SEC do not have to go through the dose reconstruction process, as is required for other cancer claims covered by the EEOICPA White Card Program.

• 1: Climax Uranium Mill, Grand Junction

  Once a sugar beet mill in 1899, it was transformed by the Climax Uranium Company in 1950 to operate as a uranium and vanadium mill until 1970, producing 2.2 million tons of radioactive tailings during its 19-year operation.

  

• 2: Coors Porcelain, Golden

  In the mid-20th century, during the height of the nuclear arms race, Coors Porcelain became an important supplier to the U.S. government. 

  

• 3: Grand Junction Operations Office (SEC)

  Grand Junction was once at the center of America's race to develop nuclear technology. During the Cold War, the Grand Junction Operations Office (GJOO) played a critical role in the procurement and testing of uranium ore that fueled the nuclear weapons program.

  

• 4: Green Sludge Plant, Uravan

  The small town of Uravan, Colorado, played an unexpectedly significant role in the Manhattan Project by becoming a crucial cog in the machinery of uranium production.

  

• 5: New Uranium Mill, Rifle

  The New Rifle Uranium Mill was constructed in 1958 by the Union Carbide Corporation. It replaced the earlier facility to accommodate the growing demand for uranium processing.

  

• 6: Old Uranium Mill, Rifle

  The Old Rifle Uranium Mill was built in 1924 by the Rifle Mines Development Company and was one of the first uranium processing sites in the U.S. 

  

• 7: Project Rio Blanco, Rifle

  The Atomic Energy Commission and private oil companies conducted a nuclear test here as part of Project Plowshare to advance natural gas production by fracturing underground rock using nuclear explosions.

  

• 8: Project Rulison, Grand Valley

  The Atomic Energy Commission and private industry conducted a nuclear test here as part of Project Plowshare to advance natural gas production by fracturing underground rock using nuclear explosions.

  

• 9: Rocky Flats Plant, Golden (SEC)

  The Rocky Flats Plant operated from the early 1950s to the late 1980s and was one of the most secretive and hazardous facilities of the Cold War. This sprawling industrial complex was at the heart of nuclear weapons production and is surrounded by controversy to this day.
  

  

• 10: Shattuck Chemical Company, Denver

  The Shattuck Chemical Company began operations in the early 1900s, originally processing radium, vanadium, and other metals. By the mid-20th century, it became involved in uranium processing to support the U.S. nuclear weapons program.

  

• 11: University of Denver Research Institute

  Few people realize that the Denver Research Institute (DRI) played a role in the U.S. nuclear weapons program. Behind closed lab doors and classified contracts, DRI scientists and technicians worked on cutting-edge defense technologies during the Cold War. 

  

• 12: Uranium Mill, Durango

  The Durango Uranium Mill, also known as the Durango Smelter, processed tens of thousands of tons of uranium ore during and after World War II.

  

• 13: Uranium Mill, Gunnison

  The Gunnison mill operated for a relatively short period of time, but its impact was long-lasting. Between 1958-1962 the mill processed approximately 540,000 tons of uranium ore. During production, large piles of radioactive waste, known as tailing piles, accumulated across 39 acres.

  

• 14: Uranium Mill, Maybell

  From the late 1950’s through the mid-1960’s, the Maybell Uranium Mill processed roughly 2.6 million tons of ore, leaving behind a legacy of environmental impacts, worker health concerns, and decades of cleanup efforts.
  

  

• 15: Uranium Mill, Naturita

  The Naturita Uranium Mill began as a vanadium processing facility, but in 1942 it was modified to recover uranium to support the Manhattan Project.

  

• 16: Uranium Mill No. 1 (East), Slick Rock

  The Slick Rock No. 1 East Site originally processed vanadium and radium from locally mined ore, but beginning around 1945, the facility was taken over by the federal government to produce uranium for the nuclear weapons program.

  

• 17: Uranium Mill No. 2 (West), Slick Rock

  Slick Rock No. 2 West was tied almost exclusively to defense efforts and better suited for higher-volume Cold War production versus the Slick Rock East Site.