Full Body Burden

In the wake of her father’s declining law practice, Iversen’s paternal grandparents move to Arvada so her banker grandfather can help him. As a teenager, Iversen outgrows Tonka and acquires a new, larger horse named Sassy. Iversen enjoys riding her, but the available riding land has decreased due to new residential developments. 

According to an EPA study, area cattle test positive for high levels of radioactive elements. Rancher Marcus Church maintains his suit against the government and hires Howard Holme as his attorney. Holme recruits a physicist named Steven Chinn to research the risks of contracting cancer in the vicinity of Rocky Flats, and his findings indicate “a rise in cancer that can be attributed to Rocky Flats” (114). Holme’s pretrial statement blames poor waste management and aftermath of the 1957 fire for the presence of harmful contaminants. Church later seeks damages from the Energy Department for the decrease in his property value. 

The heavily guarded perimeter of Rocky Flats does not stop development outside the fence. Iversen’s classmate Randy Sullivan gets into a fight one day near Rocky Flats, and a guard commands the boys to leave. Iversen provides context for the incident: “What they don’t know is that due to ‘increasing terrorist activity,’ guards at fourteen nuclear sites around the country—including Rocky Flats—are now under orders to shoot to kill” (116). 

Iversen continues her avid reading, though she replaces her mother’s romance novels with work by John Updike and Virginia Woolf and aspires to become a writer. The family pony, Barney, continues to escape the pasture, as does Iversen’s new horse Sassy. For the first time, Iversen’s father rides one of their horses on a dangerous canter around Standley Lake. The family feels uneasy about this ride and their father’s behavior, but Iversen reassures them. 

Iversen’s father comes home less and less. Iversen’s mother fears letting him into their bedroom and recruits her children to protect her. Each child considers running away until 11-year-old Karma packs a bag and takes Tonka away from home. She sleeps outside for a night and returns home. 

The siblings spend time away from the house or shut in their rooms. Iversen’s mother takes the family to a psychiatrist and he asks each member to draw their home. Iversen’s mother recreates their home on her paper, while her father has colored his entire sheet with a black crayon. The family never returns to this office. 

The company Rockwell replaces Dow Chemical as Rocky Flats’ contractor in 1974. Formerly, Rockwell made B-1 bombers and was opposed by Judy Danielson and Pam Solo of Denver’s American Friends Service Committee. Activist organizations like the Rocky Flats Action Group form to inquire about the possible effects of the 1969 fire. After meeting with the Rocky Flats Action Group, Governor Dick Lamm and Congressman Tim Wirth establish a task force regarding Rocky Flats and hold public hearings about the factory. At one hearing, a local farmer attributes deformity in his pigs to contamination from the plant. Rocky Flats officials deny all accusations. 

A report by the Lamm-Wirth Task Force expresses fear of a nuclear event and requests closing or relocating Rocky Flats. The report further requests a repeal of the Price-Anderson Act, which protects nuclear facilities from certain liabilities, and for a new law that holds companies accountable for nuclear industry involvement. The Lamm-Worth report also, however, advocates for continued prosperity for Rocky Flats. To some, the report’s competing recommendations show how government interests negatively affect public health concerns (124).

A shy teenager with diverse interests, Iversen finds difficulty fitting in during high school. On Spirit Day, Iversen participates in Pomona High School cheers during the Happy Days-themed event. Randy Sullivan arrives in the gym riding a motorcycle and dressed like “The Fonz” from the show. 

Iversen’s father serves an adoring set of clients and wins an award from the local bar association, but Iversen wonders why they do not see his dark side. Her mother doubts her father’s character as well, but covers her dismay with “a mantra: a-wonderful-family-and-four-beautiful-children” (126). With her father spending money on his practice and alcohol, her mother picks up shifts as a nurse. Despite her lack of experience, Iversen finds a job as a waitress at a truck stop working the early shift the following morning. She looks forward to earning her own money. 

The governor forms the Rocky Flats Monitoring Committee, a group of civilians that includes Sister Pam Solo. The group tours the factory and learns about its operations, although “They have no real authority” (127). Solo’s tours of the weapons facility unsettle her, and she doubts that Rocky Flats will change at all despite the Lamm-Wirth Report. However, activists have started protesting near the perimeter of the plant. 

Iversen’s first shift at the truck stop proves tiring and challenging as she learns how to do the tasks in the kitchen and dining room. Over time, she learns how to carry four plates on her arm and makes big tips behind the counter. A truck driver writes her love letters. One day her mother and siblings come to the truck stop unannounced to see Iversen work. She quits at the end of the summer for “the palpable feel of loneliness” (130) there.

Dr. Carl Johnson of the Jefferson County Health Department oversees another environmental study of the land around Rocky Flats. The report concludes that there is “forty-four times more plutonium in soil near the plant than had been reported by the State Health Department at the same locations” (130). Dr. Johnson also finds an unusually high incidence of cancers in the areas near Rocky Flats. 

Before Johnson publishes his study, the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) critiques his soil-testing process. Johnson responds that superficial soil levels may contain plutonium that unsuspecting residents might inhale. In a Denver Post op-ed, officials at Rocky Flats and the Colorado Department of Health criticize Johnson and deny the correlation between radioactive contamination and cancer.

ERDA finds that a wide swath of land surrounding Rocky Flats contains toxic levels of plutonium and that the factory continually contaminates the environment. This research also concludes that Rocky Flats’ shipments of radioactive elements by truck and plane have endangered other environments and populations. 

Iversen describes her family’s neighbors, the Smiths. As practicing Mormons, the family farms and raises animals for food. Their daughter Tamara has severe allergies aggravated by time spent outside. Her parents do not take their children—all of whom have allergies—to see doctors and continue their self-sufficient lifestyle. Their cows do not bear young. Tamara’s visiting cousin and her children do not drink the Smiths’ well water for fear of its toxicity. 

Iversen’s absent father nevertheless exerts a heavy influence over the household, whereas her mother alternately expresses hope and despair about her situation. Iversen escapes through horse riding. She feels compelled to care for her mother, who took on responsibilities for her family during the Great Depression and, as she says, “gave up everything to be with your dad” (134). Her mother maintains hope, fueled by horoscopes and prayers, that the family’s luck will change. Iversen and her siblings continue to spend time away from the house.

Kurt contracts a long-lasting illness that doctors suspect might be leukemia. He remains bedridden at the house, watching television, before the illness goes away and health restored. Kurt steals his father’s car and recklessly drives around town; after, his father confiscates the keys, and Kurt hot-wires the car. In the following years, all four children develop an illness similar to Kurt’s, but never receive a clear diagnosis. 

A local young woman named Debby Clark works in the cafeteria at Rocky Flats, and the FBI interviews her high school teachers (since she has recently graduated). Debby moves to a janitor position and remains ignorant about the work done at Rocky Flats. Later, she becomes one of the few female security guards at Rocky Flats and has a tough reputation. She receives intense training on shooting a gun, and on how to spot irregularities in the operations of the plant. One training test requires Debby to infiltrate the plant as if she is an intruder and surprise actual guards on duty. 

Iversen graduates high school and wants to escape her life in Arvada. Reports surface about the presence of thorium in the sex glands of horses near Rocky Flats. Randy Sullivan, also recently graduated, works at a Purina pet food factory in the area. Iversen moves to Fort Collins, takes college classes, and works at a doughnut shop (138). Her mother sometimes calls her to help guard against her father. 

Her father sends bad checks to Iversen and, during occasional dinners with his wife, learns of his children’s lives. Iversen lives at home the following summer and takes a job at a “roach coach” (139) that serves lunch to construction workers. Her mother considers divorcing her father. 

Iversen enjoys her job and meets a man named Mark Robertson her first day. Like her boss, he says that new servers do not last long in this job. Another customer affirms this, although Iversen says she intends to stay. Mark tells her to call the three men who have taken her food without paying for it, which they call a prank. 

The Rocky Flats Action Group holds a large rally in 1977 that inspires them to stage an event at a larger scale. Iversen’s sister Karma, passionate about causes like environmentalism, attends the group’s meetings. 

After timid on-the-job interactions with Mark, Iversen accompanies him to an Italian movie on their first date and an Italian restaurant on their second date. She sees him play music at the Denver Folklore Center, and they return to his apartment where they listen to bluegrass and folk music. After a happy summer with Mark, Iversen returns to Fort Collins for school.

On weekends, she sees Mark, who teaches her to rock climb at Castle Rock. On her first climb, he instructs her on how to use certain equipment and how to rappel down the mountain.

The Rocky Flats Action Group coordinates with Rocky Flats, police, and other organizations in anticipation of its national protest on April 29, 1978. The protest involves Daniel Ellsberg, who publicized the Pentagon Papers, and an occupation of the railroad tracks leading to Rocky Flats.

Dr. Carl Johnson’s tests discovered the radioactive material cesium-137 at Rocky Flats, suggesting that a criticality occurred there. Rocky Flats denies this claim, but Johnson advocates for further tests. In the suit involving Church and other landowners, an attorney challenges Johnson’s prevention of housing development as a county official, but Johnson counters that he is merely conducting tests to notify the public of contamination. 

After hearing complaints from local landowners, Johnson’s superior at the Jefferson County Board of Health comes against his public disclosure of his research. The board discusses censuring Johnson but votes against it. 

In 1978, widely called “the Year of Disobedience” (146), Iversen moves to Boulder to major in English at the University of Colorado. While pursuing her writing dreams, she continues to communicate with her mother, dates Mark, rides Sassy, and works at two restaurants. 

She and Mark try to eat like vegetarians, but one evening he shows her how to fry bologna for an inexpensive source of protein. They discuss their mutual anti-Vietnam War stance and how if selected, Mark would have dodged the draft. The couple argue about Rocky Flats: Iversen denies that they make nuclear weapons and contaminate the environment, whereas Mark believes the government lied about Rocky Flats. He supports those protesting the plant. Iversen considers how her reaction mimics her father’s critical opinion of activists. Mark walks out after their fight and returns an hour later to make amends. 

The day of the Rocky Flats protest, April 28, 1978, sees 6,000 people in a civil demonstration against the factory (149). Mark, Karma, and Debby Clark are all present. It begins to rain, then snow, and a remaining group of protesters station themselves on the nearby train tracks. Daniel Ellsberg argues that they stay on the tracks throughout the night despite harsh weather conditions. President Jimmy Carter, who advocated for a decrease in domestic nuclear weapons manufacturing, soon comes to the neighboring Solar Energy Research Institute and keeps the area in the public eye. 

Ellsberg and his contingent of occupying protesters split from the Rocky Flats Action Group and form the Rocky Flats Truth Force, which decides to indefinitely occupy the train tracks. The news reports on their activities, and Rockwell initially responds with indifference. However, by May 5, Rockwell coordinates with the local Sheriff's Department and arrests protesters who block an incoming train. A high school-aged girl named Marian Doub numbers among those arrested, but Ellsberg urges her to go home to her worried parents rather than return to the tracks. 

The Rocky Flats Truth Force camps on the tracks again, blocking another train; officers on board arrest 23 protesters. After the arrests, Doub and her mother protest on the tracks alone and police arrest them, as well. 

At later protests, Karma participates, sometimes in the company of Karin or Kurt. Iversen’s discomfort with the protests continues, while Mark supports them. Mark proposes to Iversen, and she declines to marry him since she is young, working, and studying at college. She tells her mother, “Mom, I’m not ready” (154). Although Mark and Iversen’s mother are upset at Iversen’s decision, the couple stays together, rock climbs, and attends a Burt Bacharach concert in Las Vegas. 

President Carter’s nuclear policies receive national news attention in summer of 1978, and protests at Rocky Flats continue. Passersby notice a white tepee on the train tracks that signifies the occupation. A protester named Patrick Malone, who “looks more like a pirate than a peace activist” (155), stays for months and police arrest him 10 times. 

The protests anger guard Debby Clark, who keeps a close eye on their activities and takes offense at their stance against the plant’s role in national defense. Poet Allen Ginsberg stays with Ann White while in town protesting Rocky Flats. In an effort at transparency, Rocky Flats hosts public tours of the replacement facility that burned in the Mother’s Day fire. Ginsberg, among others, blocks a train and goes to jail. Preparations for a trial begin, and Rocky Flats stops offering tours. 

The 1978 trial against protesters begins in Golden, Colorado, with 31-year-old Judge Kim Goldberger presiding. The protesters plead not guilty to trespassing, although members testify about their intentions to interfere with train deliveries, draw public attention to Rocky Flats, and advocate for its closure. Their defense lawyers state that the protesters have committed the crime of trespassing for the greater good of the community, reflected in the “choice of evils” (158) law in Colorado. Judge Goldberger dismisses this defense strategy. 

Expert witnesses for the defense testify before the judge without the jury present. Dr. Karl Morgan, a health physics expert, states, “There is no safe level of radiation exposure” (158-59) and links radiation with occurrences of cancer. Other—including Dr. Ed Martel—testify about the high plutonium contamination at the plant. Iversen summarizes, “All of the nuclear physicists and physicians who testify believe the plant is a public health hazard and must be closed or relocated” (159). Morgan and Dr. John Gofman testify that the protesters have reasonable grounds for their actions. 

Iversen excerpts defendant testimonies from the trial, when the jury is present. Protesters Roy Young and Skye Kerr express their fervor for the community and intention to prevent Rocky Flats from inflicting further damage. Prosecuting attorneys make frequent objections during these testimonies. Nancy Doub, Marian’s mother, also testifies about protesting with her daughter.

The jury deliberates for two days and concludes that the protesters are guilty of trespassing, though a few jurors express solidarity with the cause of the protesters after the trial concludes. Patrick Malone and fellow protesters return to the Rocky Flats train tracks (161). 

The University of Colorado Medical Center’s Dr. John Cobb conducts a 1978 study that finds plutonium in the organs of deceased people who lived in the Rocky Flats area. Dr. Cobb intends to study reproductive organs as well, but his samples are shipped off-site and stored without further study. The later report on the inspection of these organs reflects government interference in the report’s language (162). A Rocky Flats employee named James Downing, exposed to radiation many times during his work at the factory, dies of cancer in November of 1978.

The Federal Housing Administration requires homeowners within 10 miles of Rocky Flats to sign a notice about plutonium contamination. This new requirement unsettles residents and further mars Rocky Flats’ shaky public image. 

Iversen’s parents have separated, but her father continues to arrive unannounced to the family home. Her mother works as a nurse and her brother lives at home to help protect her. One evening her father, suffering from alcohol poisoning, breaks in; Iversen's mother and brother drive him to the hospital.

Iversen constantly anticipates her father’s death. She meditates and does yoga to help with her neck injury and stress. During a yoga class, Iversen’s mother calls and urges her to come home. At the house, her mother tells her that Mark has died while rock climbing with a friend. Iversen runs to her sister’s room and turns off the lights, turning a deaf ear to her father’s call outside the door.