TOXIC NUCLEAR WASTELANDS IN AMERICA. A 2016 REPORT

THE CARELESSNESS OF THE NUCLEAR ARMS RACE AND FAILURE OF NUCLEAR "REGULATION", WHICH IS ITSELF A VERY SICK JOKE, WERE BOTH ADDRESSED LAST WEEK BY, OF ALL SOURCES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (WSJ), BUT ANY ARTICLE THAT POINTS TO THE FACTS, NO MATTER HOW FEW, OF WHAT NUCLEAR ENERGY HAS COST US AND IS STILL COSTING US DESERVES RECOGNITION.

WSJ, February 20, 2016  "During the build-up  to the Cold War, the U.S. government called upon hundreds of factories and research centers to help develop nuclear weapons and other forms of atomic energy. At many sites, this work left behind residual radioactive contamination requiring government cleanups, some of which are still INCOMPLETE.

The Department of Energy says it has protected the public health, and studies about radiation harm aren’t definitive.
[BUT NO ONE IN THE DOE WOULD LIVE AT ONE OF THESE SITES.]

But with the government's own records about many of the sites unclear, the Journal has compiled a database that draws on thousands of public records and other sources to trace this historic atomic development effort and its consequences.

There are 517 sites in this database, based on the Department of Energy's listing of facilities "considered" for radioactive cleanup through its Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).

The large majority were ultimately referred to other agencies or programs, or deemed not to require a cleanup.
Read more about the Journal's methodology.

There are 201 sites studied by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in a 2011 report on potential radioactive contamination.

BELOW, JUST A VERY FEW OF THE SITES THE JOURNAL INVESTIGATED.

BAKER AND WILLIAMS WAREHOUSE, NEW YORK CITY.

500 Block of W. 20th St.

New York, N.Y.

This site stored 300,000 POUNDS OF URANIUM HERE, according to government records.

“The presence of radiological contamination was confirmed during a preliminary survey performed in 1990-91, approximately 50 years after use by the MED for storage of material."

50 YEARS AFTER...THINK ABOUT THAT.

WHY DID THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION STORE URANIUM IN NEW YORK CITY?
THINK ABOUT THAT?

THERE IS ANOTHER STORAGE FACILITY ON STATEN ISLAND.  

MIDDLESEX NORTH SITE, NEW JERSEY

This site was contaminated by thorium and uranium, according to government records. The government says it has cleaned up this site under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, but some additional radioactive contamination was found on the site several years ago, prompting federal officials to consider putting the site back in the program.

“From 1948 to 1960, the Middlesex Sampling Plant conducted thorium and uranium activities and disposed of the wastes at the Middlesex Municipal Landfill. Although this site was designated as part of the Formerly Utilized Site Remediation Action Program (FUSRAP) in 1980, the only years in which remediation work took place were 1984 and 1986. This work was performed under the Bechtel National Inc. umbrella site remediation contract and by local subcontractors.”

“Documentation is available and adequate to determine that the site was used for disposal of contaminated soils in 1948. In 1960, discovery of the contamination was made through observance of abnormal background radiation readings during a civil defense drill. Documentation establishes that subsequent to interactions between local and federal authorities, 650 cubic yards of surface material was removed on May 18, 1961. Residual subsurface contamination still existed after this action, but awareness of this condition and the documented radiation levels is considered to pose no significant exposure scenario.

THE BURNING QUESTION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THIS AREA "POSES NO SIGNIFICANT EXPOSURE SCENARIO'?
WOULD THOSE WHO SO RULED BUILD THEIR HOME THERE, SEND THEIR CHILDREN OUT TO PLAY THERE?

Gilman Hall

Berkeley, Calif.

Scientists first discovered plutonium here.
Some contamination remains in walls and floors but is shielded and officials say doesn’t pose a risk to current occupants.

Palos Forest Preserve

Cook County, Ill.

Burial site of the world’s first nuclear reactor in an area of a park used by hikers and bicyclists.

Former Sylvania Corning Plant

Hicksville, N.Y.

Some area residents and site workers have over the years filed legal actions claiming health damage from contamination related to the site, which did uranium work for the weapons program. Legal actions have generally been settled on undisclosed terms with owners denying the facility caused health problems.   For many sites in the Department of Energy's online version of the list, key information—such as an address or company name—was missing or erroneous.
 
(A minor example: It listed the location of the Allied Chemical and Dye Corp. plant in North Claymont, Del., as "North Claymore" at the time of the Journal's research.)

Where possible, the Journal has attempted to correct these errors and and fill in missing details.
One large source of additional information comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which issued its latest "Report on Residual Radioactive and Beryllium Contamination at Atomic Weapons Employer Facilities and Beryllium Vendor Facilities" in August 2011.

Now that this database has been released to the public, the Journal welcomes additional information on these sites from the public. Send relevant tips, photographs, and documents to wastelands@wsj.com

TO SEE IF ANY OF THESE ARE NEAR YOU, GO TO
http://projects.wsj.com/waste-lands/

YOU CAN SELECT YOUR STATE RIGHT UP ON TOP BESIDE THE TITLE OF THE ARTICLE , OR SCROLL DOWN TO EITHER THE LONG LIST OF CONTAMINATED SITES, OR TO WHERE YOU ENTER YOUR ZIP CODE TO FIND NEARBY CONTAMINATED AREAS.

THE TEA ROOM WILL NOW "EAT A LITTLE CROW", AS THE OLD ADAGE SAYS, AND HONESTLY STATE THAT THIS PIECE BY WSJ IS A DAMNED FINE PIECE OF JOURNALISM...IT APPROACHES 'EXCELLENCE' IN DETAIL ALONE. THE TRUTH, EVEN WHEN IT STINGS. WHAT A GLORIOUS SURPRISE!

I will now sit quietly and let the "crow" digest.
HOWEVER, this invaluable article does NOT change my overall opinion of the WSJ as a 'mouthpiece' for corporate agenda and disinformation, as a "news source" that, as my father said, "prints only the news that fits". 

This article is THE exception.

Interactive database and reporting at WSJ by Jeremy Singer-Vine, John R. Emshwiller, Neil Parmar, and Charity Scott...
GOOD JOB, KIDS, REALLY GOOD JOB!

Related WSJ Articles:

• A Nuclear Cleanup Effort Leaves Questions Lingering at Scores of Old Sites 10/30/2013
• In New York, a Tale of Exposure Raises the Question: How Much Radiation Is Safe? 10/30/2013
• One Town's Atomic Legacy: A $500 Million Cleanup 11/22/2013
• Queens Nuclear Cleanup Picks Up Steam After Criticisms 12/12/2013
• Records Point to Nuclear Work in SoHo 12/21/2013
• Neighbors Fume at Radioactive Dump in St. Louis Suburbs 12/30/2013
• Facebook Page Chronicles Accounts of Illnesses Reported by Residents 12/30/2013
• Nuclear Waste Sits on Ocean Floor 12/31/2013
• EPA Said to Seek Softer Review of Dump 03/10/2014
• Hearing on Hanford Nuclear Cleanup Won't Include Key Workers 03/11/2014
• Nuclear Report Raises Questions on Pennsylvania Dump Cleanup 03/14/2014