A new study suggests radon is leaving the West Lake Landfill and leaving small traces of its radioactive lead byproduct nearby.
The authors of , published in the peer-reviewed “,†found levels of the radioactive isotope lead-210, a daughter of radon, that they say can’t be attributed to natural radioactive decay.
“Levels of (lead-210) in key samples were well above background activities, and were significantly out of secular equilibrium with other members of the uranium decay chain,†the authors wrote. “This is strong evidence that the (lead-210) originated by decay of short-lived, fugitive radon gas that escaped the landfill.â€
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The Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the Bridgeton landfill contaminated with nuclear processing waste, has said radon gas is emitted from the landfill at higher levels because of the waste there. The new study suggests at least trace amounts of it are showing up beyond the fence that keeps the public out of the long-contaminated landfill.
“That’s where the problem lies,†said Marco Kaltofen, an engineer and scientist with the firm Boston Chemical Corp. who co-authored the report. “Anytime one of these isotopes is more mobile, it’s going to be more likely to expose people.â€
Kaltofen co-authored the report with Chicago-based nuclear industry researcher Lucas Hixson and nuclear industry critic Robert Alvarez, a former Congressional investigator and adviser to three energy secretaries in President Bill Clinton’s administration. The study was funded by longtime local nuclear waste opponent Kay Drey.
The soil samples collected for the study all fall below the . The highest concentration of lead 210 was about 9.45 picocuries per gram found near the West Lake Landfill.
The EPA found similar levels of lead-210 when it tested at the Bridgeton Municipal Athletic Complex last summer.
One picocurie represents about 2.2 atomic disintegrations per minute. The EPA’s standard cleanup goal for lead-210 on land that will be occupied for residential use is 33.5 picocuries per gram.
The median value of the study’s 229 soil and sediment samples was much lower, at about 1.94 picocuries per gram.
The study says 48 percent of its samples exceed a federal cleanup level for a site in Ohio that was set at 2 picocuries per gram. The EPA sets cleanup guidelines for many radionuclides in the uranium decay chain at 5 picocuries per gram.
Along Coldwater Creek, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has found levels of thorium-230, a product of uranium decay, at levels as high as 50 to 70 picocuries per gram range.
The study’s authors argue that their evidence of off-site migration warrants better monitoring around West Lake.
“Given the importance of radon releases from soils to air as a vector for public exposure to radioactivity, increasing the density and frequency of radon measurements around the West Lake Landfill should be an important priority,†they wrote.