United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region IX
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

The site is located at 10800 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, 91601 (Latitude 34.1718747; Longitude -11838722).  The area is light industrial and residential.  Immediately east of Preservation Aviation, across a public street, are apartments and homes.  On the west side of Preservation is shutter and curtain manufacturing business.  On the south side of the facility is a special effects company.  The northern border of the site is Burbank Blvd.

The site consists of two masonry warehouse structures with wood roofs.  The north structure consists of two bays in the southern section of the building and a maze of offices and storage areas in throughout the rest of the building.  The northern building is crammed with gauges.  The southern building is empty.  Between the two buildings are two asphalt yards separated by chain link fences. The northern yard is filled with debris, boxes and pallets of gauges and other electrical components and devices.  There is also a 45 foot box semi-trailer on the southern edge of the north yard.  The southern yard is empty.

The northern building is grossly contaminated with radium and its progeny.  The average gamma readings inside the building are 1 mR/hr.  Dose rates up to 8 mR/hr have been detected.  In addition a Cobalt 60 sources has been detected by not identified.  The radium contamination is both fixed and removable at levels above the NUREG 1.86 guidance   The southern building has fixed radium contamination identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Radiation Management Unit (LACODHS).

The northern yard is also grossly contaminated with radium with an average gamma dose rate of 100 μR/hr (background 15 μR/hr).  The highest dose rate detected in the yard is 4000 μR/hr.  Areas along the perimeter of the yard have dose rates that range from 30 - 400 μR/hr.

1. Removal site evaluation

On May 18 - 19, 2004, a team from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Emergency Response Section Region 9 and the EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (ORIA) conducted an assessment at the above property.  The assessment was conducted using a variety of real-time monitoring instruments and a multi-channel gamma spectrometer.  In addition wipe samples were collected and counted on-site using a field portable alpha/beta wipe counter.  

2.  May 26, 2004:  Based on the information gathered during the removal assessmnet, OSC Robert Wise initiated an emergency removal action to stabilize the site using his warrant authority.

3.  May 27 - 30, 2004:  EPA conducted an emergency removal action to stabilize the site.  Activities conducted are listed below.
A. Identification of unknown Cobalt 60 sources found in the building by the START.  Cobalt sources wer discovered in an air speed gauge.
B.  Assessment of off-site radium migration pathways including the roof vents and sheet flow from precipitation events.  Monitoring of the roof vents with a ratemeter/scalar with a alpha scintillator indicated the presence of elevated alpha activity.  The START collected wipe samples which will be analyzed next week.  Monitoring of the surface runoff area indicated one hot spot 3 time background.  The area was covered with epoxy paint to fix te radium contamination unil it could be removed.
C.  Assessment of the southern building.  The assessment indicated high levels of fixed residual radiation.  Wipe samples indicated the contamination was fixed.  At the advice of Gregg Dempsey, ORIA, those areas were painted to further fix the radium until remediation could occur.
D.  Removal of potential exposures along the east fence line (north yard) at the side walk.  The ERRS contractor removed several contaminated boxes with gamma radiation levels of 2000 uR/hr.  The boxes were moved into the north structure.  After moving the boxes, fence line levels dropped to background.
E.  Removal of potential exposures along the west fence line (north yard) with an adjacent business.  The ERRS contractor removed several contaminated boxes with gamma radiation levels of 2000 uR/hr.  The boxes were moved away from the fence.  After moving the boxes, fence line levels dropped from 4000 ur/hr on the fenceline to 100-200 uR/hr.  Addition monitoring at the adjacent business will occur after Memorial Day.
F.  ERRS bulked debris which presented a fire hazard in roll off bins in the south yard.

1.  Stabilization:  May 26 - 30, 2004
2.  North Yard Cleanout:  Starting June 15, 2004
3.  North Building Cleanout:  TBD
4.  North Building Assessment:  TBD
5.  North Building Decontamination or Demolition:  TBD
6.  Yard Area Assessment:  TBD
7.  Yard Area Decontamination:  TBD
8.  South Building Decontamination:  TBD
9.  Subsurface Assessment:  TBD
10.  Soil Removal (as necessary):  TBD

1.  Plan for mid to late July, remobilization for North Yard Cleanup
2.  Initiate enforcement action against the land owner and business owner
3.  Initiate community relations program to inform neighborhood of removal activities.

1.  Disposal of radioactive waste
2.  Process for the assessment of contamination levels on dials
3.  Processing of dials for disposal
4.  Assessment of other hazards on-site