<P> A perimeter security zone was installed around the facility in 1983 and was upgraded with remote detection abilities in 1985 . Also in 1983, the first radioactive waste was processed through the aqueous recovery system, creating a plutonium button . </P> <P> A celebration of 250,000 continuous safe hours by the employees at Rocky Flats happened in 1985 . The same year, Rockwell received Industrial Research Magazine's IR - 100 award for a process to remove actinide contamination from wastewater at the plant . The next year, the site received a National Safety Council Award of Honor for outstanding safety performance . </P> <P> On August 10, 1987, 320 demonstrators were arrested after they tried to force a one - day shutdown of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant . </P> <P> In 1988, a Department of Energy (DOE) safety evaluation resulted in a report that was critical of safety measures at the plant . The EPA fined the plant for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) leaks from a transformer . A solid waste form, called pondcrete, was found not to have cured properly and was leaking from containers . A boxcar of transuranic waste from the site was refused entry into Idaho and returned to the plant . Plans to potentially close the plant were released . </P>

Fbi raid on rocky flats in november 1989