Hey guys,

I'm pretty new to the forums (long-time lurker) but wanted to post about a recent trip to the abandoned Titan I Missile Silo in CO. I'm fairly certain that it's a pretty well known location but wanted to share my pictures anyway. It was really cool to explore and although it took a little while to get in, it was well worth it. I've read lots of stories of the landowner showing up with a shotgun but this is the second time I've been there now and I haven't had problems either time, but we did try to be very quiet. Anyway hope you enjoy. Any local people hit me up!

Glad you got to check out such a great spot.

One word of advice- respirator. The amount of airborne contaminants (asbestos, lead, benzene, mold) is seriously bad for your health... and a little face mask isn't going to do squat to protect you from getting cancer.
All it takes is one particle to lodge itself in your lungs.

Please be careful.

Yes we made the mistake of forgetting our respirators at home... Lungs were definitely hurting the next morning. Thanks for the advice though!

Cool.

Lead is not an issue. Mold and asbestos might be.
That said you need to breathe a lot of asbestos normally to produce disease and even then not always depending on the type and the individual.
Don't sweat it... good mission

Posted by blackhawk Cool. Lead is not an issue. Mold and asbestos might be. That said you need to breathe a lot of asbestos normally to produce disease and even then not always depending on the type and the individual. Don't sweat it... good mission

Good point, it does depend on the type.

Posted by OnlyFootprints Good point, it does depend on the type.

That said if your lungs are sore, you suck in something bad...
If they didn't see a lot of airborne particles it was probably mold or perhaps chemical. You have to eat a -lot- of silica or asbestos to actually feel it the next day... been there, done that

Posted by blackhawk You have to eat a -lot- of silica or asbestos to actually feel it the next day... been there, done that

As a lot of us probably have...hopefully only once though. Waking up with sore lungs tends to be a pretty good hint to wear a respirator next time!

Posted by cradcore As a lot of us probably have...hopefully only once though. Waking up with sore lungs tends to be a pretty good hint to wear a respirator next time!

Unless you were blowing globs of mud out your nose I wouldn't worry about asbestos being the cause. Very unlikely you ate that much of it unless you kicked up a dust storm down there.
Never stir up dust if you can avoid it.

Mold is probably rampant down there and some strains are quite nasty. The airborne spores are invisible. A burning in the back of your throat is a sign you're sucking them in... it happens within minutes or less of exposure.

Benzene if present is nasty stuff to be exposed to, especially repeatedly. Even than, doubtful it will cause problems in this case. The coolness keeps concentrations relatively low unless there are huge amounts present which is unlikely.

Be observant and use common sense whenever you explore... falls are your #1 hazard. At a site like that it's all too easy to find a hellhole. Respirators are a distraction... and distractions kill.
You successfully avoided the primary hazards

Always helps to have good info thanks BlackHawk!

If this is the one out east, Im happy to see its still being explored! It seemed like neighbors and police were teaming up and heavily cracking down on people going in there...

good to see this is still accessible. Many many good hours spent there!

Nice!! Those pictures bring back good memories. Many hours spent exploring that location. Still my favorite place I have ever explored.

Only wore a respirator once. Never had any respiratory issues due to exploring there without respiratory protection. The irony of that statement is I got a nasty bacterial sinus infection from a wide open one-room schoolhouse on the plains. Guess you just never know.