An abandoned radioactive material laboratory. Hundreds of sources were left behind when the company went bankrupt. High radiation levels were found through out the Site and even exceeded the permissible exposure at the perimeters. Crews have worked to remove the contents of the buildings and the buildings. Radioactive wastes have been sent for disposal at three disposal facilities. Some sealed sources have been sent to DOE as part of their recovery program. A significant amount of waste from the Site is considered Greater Than Class C has since there is no commercial disposal facility, the waste is being stored until such a facility opens.
Gamma radiation in cells were recorded exceeding 1000 R. Some rooms were so hot that the annual allowable exposure rate could have been received in as little as 13 minutes. Alpha contamination on floors and walls exceeded 200,000,000 counts per minute. Approximately 300 sources were found in the buildings, up to 125 Curie Cesium-137.
The buildings have been removed.
Crews have mobilized in to excavate the contaminated soil and driveways and parking lot on the Site. The investigation conducted in May 2003 determined the areas of contamination. Cesium-137 was found as high as 35,000 pico-Curies per gram over a grid of 15 x 15 feet. And Americium-241 as high as 500 pico-Curies per gram over the same size grid. The goal is to excavate the soil and achieve the release standards of 40 and 6 pico-curies per gram in order to release the Site for unrestricted reuse.
Crews will excavate soil with track hoes, shovels, and trowels to reach the cleanup standard. EPA’s Las Vegas Lab, the State of Texas, and EPA’s START contractor will be verifying the cleanup.
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