People: Admiral Watkins -- Places: Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant -- Subjects: work at Rocky Flats (1961 to 1996) and as consultant to Rocky Flats (1996 to 2002), Building 771 (32 years of work in Building 771, changes to building, work done in Building 771 vs. Building 76/77, effects of the 1957 fire on Building 771, work as a chemical operator in 771, promotion from crew leader to foreman and then to deputy assistant general manager, stress of working as building manager of 771, reasons for 771 having more contamination problems, aqueous recovery system for recovery of plutonium from scrap, two incidents "near-miss" criticality events, experience of getting contaminated and having tissue cut out of finger, mice in building that spread contamination, planning for cleanup of 771, new decontamination process: cerium nitrate decontamination), union at Rocky Flats, 903 pad (contamination of area, cleanup of area, paving of area), cleanup and creation of Wildlife Refuge, worries about long-term contamination, Building 371, problems with the building (designers inexperienced with plutonium, cracks in walls, inappropriate use of materials), production shifted back to 771, FBI raid (accusation of illegal burning, decision by Admiral Watkins to close down plant abruptly, danger of solutions sitting in pipes and tanks for six years), nuclear weapons as a deterrent, women working in production areas (cultural challenges, new training program, incidents with "romantic relationships"), safety at Rocky Flats.
