LMSP site lead witnessed history and adapted to changing mission at Rocky Flats Site, Colorado
February 2, 2026
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When former Legacy Management Support Partner (LMSP) and Rocky Flats Site Lead Dana Santi first set foot on Rocky Flats in 1984, little did he know that he would spend 36 years of his career as a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contractor with five different companies, with 25 of those years spent at Rocky Flats.
Santi first heard about the Rocky Flats Plant from a friend while in graduate school at the Colorado School of Mines. He accepted a research position to support DOE’s mission in September 1984. He was eager to learn in an environment rich in resources and technology.
In 1990, Santi moved into management as a first shift manager overseeing the repacking and shipping of solar ponds sludge to approved locations. Later, he managed several different research and development organizations with missions ranging from plutonium extraction and purification to stockpile reliability to decontamination and decommissioning.
When the Cold War ended, the plant stopped production and began environmental cleanup and closure. Santi transitioned his groups to align them with the changing missions. When the final cleanup and closure contract was issued in 1995, Santi took a project manager role to implement technologies to streamline cleanup and reduce costs. His final project before leaving Rocky Flats in 2000 was to work with Los Alamos National Laboratory to design, build, and deploy self-contained mobile standard waste box counters, known as Super-HENC (High Efficiency Neutron Counters). The device enabled Rocky Flats workers to package large pieces of equipment in standard waste boxes and test the equipment on the spot, which significantly reduced waste management and disposal costs.
Santi worked for a contractor’s corporate office starting in 2001 as a senior chemical process engineer. As part of that role, he spent 10 years as the process engineer helping to design the Pit Disassembly and Conversion Facility (PDCF) at the Savanah River Site in South Carolina. The plan for the PDCF, which wasn’t built, was to receive plutonium as the nation's inventory of surplus nuclear weapons pits was dissembled, and convert the material into a form suitable for mixed oxide reactor fuel. In 2015, Santi was a member of the LMSP transition team, and a year later came back to the Rocky Flats Site, Colorado, full time to help with the Original Landfill stabilization project. The site looked vastly different from the plant Santi worked at years ago, and he relied on a few trees and a shed to orient himself.
Santi became the Rocky Flats site lead in 2020 and remained in that role until his retirement in June 2025. As site lead, he was responsible for supporting the DOE Office of Legacy Management’s (LM) mission at the site. He oversaw water treatment systems, groundwater and surface water sampling, engineered cover inspections, and general reporting and documentation, and he ensured the site protected human health and the environment.
“It has been a pleasure working with Dana during his time as the Rocky Flats LMSP site lead, and I have learned so much from him,” said Michelle Franke, LM Rocky Flats Site manager. “His leadership, dedication, and extensive knowledge of the site — combined with the expertise and commitment of the site staff — were instrumental in the successful execution of several major maintenance projects as well as effective management of routine site operations. I look forward to working with him periodically on select site projects and wish him the best in his next chapter.”
Santi’s favorite memories are the times when the team came together to complete a project. He is very proud of the site in its current state and enjoys seeing the wildlife thrive. To hear more about his thoughts on the Rocky Flats site, click here to view a short video.
“It was a good career and I liked the challenge,” said Santi. “We leveraged new technologies to improve how we do things.”
During retirement, Santi is looking forward to camping more with his wife and dogs in their RV, along with renovating his house, working on his Ford Mustangs, and building woodworking projects.