| Abstract |
The Lansdowne Radiation site consists of two attached residences located at 105/107 East Stratford Avenue, Lansdowne, PA. The building is located in a residential area, approximately two miles from Philadelphia. The dwellings were contaminated with radium and other radionuclides between 1924 and 1944 as a result of refining radium and producing medical devices. A decontamination effort in 1964 consisted of removing as much radium as practical by sending, scraping, vacuuming, and washing the house walls, floors and ceilings. Some concrete floor and wooden floor boards were also removed. It is postulated that the acid fumes from the radium purification procedure used, as well as spills, carried the radium contamination deep into the wood and plaster of the home. The remedial action includes dismantling of the house. All radioactive materials above established permissible levels will be packed and sealed in approved containers, and disposed of at an approved offsite disposal facility; contaminated soil located in and around the house will be excavated and removed to established permissible levels. The sewer lateral leading from the contaminated house to Stratford Avenue will be removed and replaced. The capital cost has been estimated at $4,000,000-$4,500,000. |
