[ RadSafe ] Radioactive dials removed

[Fred Dawson]

Radioactive dials removed




http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~2792270,00.html

NORTH HOLLYWOOD -- EPA officials announced Thursday they had removed more 
than a million radioactive WWII-era airplane dials from an abandoned 
warehouse, which may have to be demolished because of widespread 
contamination.
Stored at the Preservation Aviation Warehouse, 10800 Burbank Blvd., the 
dials were coated with radium paint to illuminate them during night flights. 
Officials estimated that as many as 10 percent of the gauges were broken, 
releasing radioactive particles.

"We've done a number of radiation contamination (cleanups), but I don't 
recall a dial cleanup in the past," said Keith A. Takata, director of the 
Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund division.

"A single dial leaking radiation isn't a big problem. But a million of them, 
and many of them broken, becomes a big problem."

During the cleanup, which began last May, the dials were shipped to 
out-of-state landfills at a cost of about $5 million. The estimated cost of 
the cleanup is $9.3 million, and EPA officials plan to recover some of the 
costs from the warehouse owners.

Preservation Aviation bought and sold aircraft gauges and other parts from 
World War II-era aircraft, which were stored in the red-brick warehouse.

The contamination was originally discovered by the city's Building and 
Safety Department, which notified the Los Angeles County Department of 
Health Services Radiation Management Department, which in turn called the 
EPA.

EPA officials conducted tests last May and found radiation levels inside the 
warehouse were 100 times higher than background levels, while a yard had 10 
times the background level.

Robert Wise, on-scene coordinator for the cleanup, said radiation levels 
outside the building had dropped to acceptable levels, but the sidewalk 
remained cordoned off. Cleanup of the interior of the warehouse continues, 
and officials should know next week whether the building will have to be 
demolished.

Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge said the cleanup was a good example 
of several different agencies working together.

"We don't know what's inside some of these industrial warehouses in the San 
Fernando Valley," LaBonge said. "The EPA was here for us."

Wise asked that residents who know of other abandoned buildings that may 
contain hazardous materials call the EPA at (800) 300-2193.



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Fred Dawson