Radioactive soil removed from Staten Island’s Great Kills Park
National Parks Service officials are removing what they describe as “a small amount of soil” that contains traces of radioactive material from Great Kills Park on Staten Island.
The work, which is expected to be completed by tomorrow, includes five sites where a total of one cubic yard of soil will be removed for disposal. Officials say the hot spots are safe by federal standards and are not in high visitor-use areas.
The source of radiation was probably from remnants of old industrial machinery that was dumped in the park in the 1930s, officials speculated.
“Although the levels of radiation detected at Great Kills Park are safe by federal standards, the National Park Service will remove these contaminants from the site,” said Dave Taft, acting superintendent of Gateway’s Staten Island Unit, in a press release. “We made this commitment after the initial discovery of the material and this week’s actions are a result of that promise. Public safety is out first priority.”
The project is being done in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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THOMAS DE LACY
i visit great kills park every friday with my 3 yrld son as well as my dog. i would like to know if the government is going to continue to search for more hot spots throughout the park.