Tag: RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES

Pittsburg California Radiation Experiments covering half of the City

Spreading 10,000 rads of radiation onto the ground, roofs and lawns and how they cleaned it up. Note that the exposure to the personnel is only for the theoretical amount that future people would be exposed to while in this case, they were using lawn spreaders to put down 1000 and 10,000 rads of radiation. They also thought that these people were standing on clean ground, extending the brushes onto the contaminated ground. What happened to the people depicted in these photographs?

This article supplements my article with photographs and report text. “Pittsburg California Radiation Experiments, spreading radioactive sand onto barracks, lawns and streets of the former Camp Stoneman Base to train Sailors how to clean up after an atomic strike.”

1.1 BACKGROUND and HISTORY

Sartor, J D, Curtis, H B, Lee, H, and Owen, W L. COST AND EFFECTIVENESS OF DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURES FOR LAND TARGETS. United States/USNRDL-TR-196; NY 320-001-9; AD-153932 27 December 1957 Continue reading “Pittsburg California Radiation Experiments covering half of the City” →

Farallon Islands Nuclear Waste sites

The Navy dumped over 47,000 barrels of nuclear waste off the coast of San Francisco near the Farallon Islands. This is a map of their locations. Unfortunately they were supposed to bury it in deep water but it can be found in water 300 meters deep .

John L. Chin and Allan Ota,”Disposal of Dredged Material and Other Waste on the Continental Shelf and Slope” U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2001 Circular 1198 (full-length technical version) p 201

The USS Independence which according to Navy Records was sunk at the approximate location of this map was actually found farther south in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. USS Independence Irradiated in Nuclear Tests found in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
E/V Nautilus explores the Flight Deck of the USS Independence

Most of that 47000 barrels of nuclear waste were stored on the ship when they sunk the Air Craft Carrier. So the amounts sunk in the Farallon Islands must be adjusted.
Continue reading “Farallon Islands Nuclear Waste sites” →

North Hollywood High School Nuclear Radiation Test to see how far gamma rays penetrates a school which is still in use to this day!

EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF THE FALLOUT-RADIATION PROTECTION PROVIDED BY SELECTED STRUCTURES IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA February 26, 1963

“An experimental study designed to provide a basis for estimating protection against fallout radiation was conducted on four diversified structures in the Los Angeles, Calif., area. This study was sponsored by the Civil Effects Test Operations (CETO), Division of Biology and Medicine, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. The four buildings studied were (1) the Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Biology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA); (2) a family fallout shelter; (3) the communications section of the Los Angeles Police Department building; and (4) a typical classroom located at North Hollywood High School.

A fallout radiation field was simulated by the Mobile Radiological Measuring Unit. The unit employed a single radioactive Co 60 source, which was pumped at a uniform speed through a long length of tubing evenly distributed over the area of interest. Measurements of the radiation levels at selected points inside the structures were made with highly sensitive ionization chamber detectors. Protection factors ranged from 10 to 2000 in the UCLA building, up to 10,000 in the family fallout shelter, from 50 to 150 in the communications section of the police building, and from less than 10 to approximately 20 in the high school classroom.”

Continue reading “North Hollywood High School Nuclear Radiation Test to see how far gamma rays penetrates a school which is still in use to this day!” →

SF – NAVAL STATION TREASURE ISLAND (38370044)

Site History

Envirostor (State of California) page 550 ACRES; BETWEEN SAN FRANCISCO & OAKLAND, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94130

Google Map

“Naval Station Treasure Island (NSTI) is located in San Francisco Bay (Bay), midway between San Francisco and Oakland, California. The facility consists of two contiguous islands: Treasure Island (TI), which is approximately 550 acres, and Yerba Buena Island (YBI), which is approximately 550 acres. Stormwater outfalls and offshore sediments (Site 13) encompass approximately 563 additional acres. Treasure Island is a manmade island that is anchored to a natural rock island (YBI), that was constructed of materials dredged from the Bay in 1936. The island was developed to be the site of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. In response to a Navy request, in 1941, the City of San Francisco leased TI to the Navy for the duration of World War II. After the war, the city agreed to transfer the deed for TI to the Navy in exchange for government-owned land south of San Francisco where the San Francisco International Airport was later built. TI provided administrative and support facilities for processing Pacific-bound naval personnel, and for the administrative operations of other Navy, Marine Reserves, and non-military Federal activities. Military activities at YBI date back to 1866. In 1993, NSTI was designated for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) of 1990. The base was closed on September 30, 1997, and is currently in the transfer process.

In April 1988, a Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection (PA/SI) Report of the facility was prepared for the Naval Energy and Environmental Support Activity (NEESA). Based on information from historical records, aerial photos, agency contacts, field inspection, and personnel interviews, a total of 20 areas were identified with potential contamination and for additional site investigation. These identified acres included: a medical clinic; a former foundry; a boiler plant; an old bunker; stormwater outfalls; a refuse transfer area; a car hobby shop; an oil recovery waste facility; a seaplane maintenance shop; an exchange service station; a hydraulic training school; a painting shop; two storage shed areas; a landfill; and fire training fuel tank releases. During subsequent investigations additional sites were identified that brought the total number of sites to 33. Contaminants include: low-level radioactive waste, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, pesticides, paints, waste oil and fuel, solvents, asbestos, acids, and heavy metals.

Since closure of the base in 1997, nearly all of TI has been leased to the City of San Francisco for a variety of uses including movie production, an elementary school and daycare center, approximately 750 rental housing units, and an Olympic sailing school at Clipper Cove. In addition, 35 acres were transferred to the Federal Department of Labor for the establishment of a job corps center on TI. Portions of YBI were also transferred to the State to facilitate the construction of the new East Bay Bridge. The remainder of the land on YBI is comprised of housing that is controlled by the City of San Francisco and a U.S. Coast Guard Station that occupies the southern half of the island.

EnviroStor includes separate profiles for 13 of the 33 sites that provide the current, ongoing and projected activities for each site. The previous reports and historical documents for these 13 sites were retained in this basewide profile. The 13 sites are:
Site 6 – Fire Training School (4.54 acres, EnviroStor # 60001091)
Site 8 – Army Point Sludge Disposal Area (3.12 acres, EnviroStor # 60001161)
Site 11 – YBI Landfill (2.88 acres, EnviroStor # 60001162)
Site 12 – Old Bunker Area (93.2 acres, EnviroStor # 60001092)
Site 21 – Vessel Waste Oil Recovery Area (2 acres, EnviroStor # 60001093)
Site 24 – Dry Cleaning Facility (20.46 acres, EnviroStor # 60001094)
Site 27 – Clipper Cove (19.55 acres, EnviroStor # 60001095)
Site 28 – West Side On/Off Ramp (10.53 acres, EnviroStor # 60001096)
Site 29 – East Side On/Off Ramp (15.13 acres, EnviroStor # 60001164)
Site 30 – Day Care Center (1.46 acres, EnviroStor # 60001097)
Site 31 – Former South Storage Yard (2.02 acres, EnviroStor # 60001098)
Site 32 – Former Training and Storage Area (2.6 acres, EnviroStor # 60001099)
Site 33 – Water Line Replacement Area (4.89 acres, EnviroStor # 60001100)

Updated 09/07/2018 – KAW”

Deed Restriction / Land Use Covenant:

Envirostor (State of California) Land Use Restrictions Page

YBI Covenant to Restrict Use of Property (CRUP)

Note this Land use Restriction by the State of California only applies to Yorba Buena Island, while the rest of the base is under the EPA Superfund Site.

  • ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED WHICH DISTURB THE REMEDIATION AND MONITORING SYSTEMS WITHOUT APPROVAL
  • ANNUAL INSPECTION AND/OR REPORT REQUIRED
  • DAY CARE CENTER PROHIBITED
  • ELDER CARE CENTER PROHIBITED
  • HOSPITAL USE PROHIBITED
  • NO DRILLING FOR DRINKING WATER, OIL OR GAS WITHOUT APPROVAL
  • NO EXCAVATION OR ACTIVITIES WHICH DISTURB THE SOIL AT ANY DEPTH WITHOUT APPROVAL OF A SOIL MANAGEMENT PLAN AND/OR HEALTH AND SAFETY PLAN
  • NOTIFY DAMAGES TO REMEDY AND MONITORING SYSTEMS NO LATER THAN 10 DAYS UPON DISCOVERY
  • NOTIFY DETAILS OF COMPLETION OF ANY REPAIRS OF DAMAGES TO REMEDY AND MONITORING SYSTEMS NO LATER THAN 30 DAYS AFTER REPAIR.

POTENTIAL CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN

DIOXIN (AS 2,3,7,8-TCDD TEQ)
LEAD
OTHER
PETROLEUM
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCBS)
POLYFLUORINATED ALKYLATED SUBSTANCES (PFAS)
POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS)
RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES
UNCATEGORIZED
VOLATILE ORGANICS (8260B VOCS)

Envirostor disclaimer

NPL means EPA National Priorities List (Superfund)