[CPEO-MEF] RADIATION, REUSE: "Nuclear byproduct levels on Treasure Island [CA} higher than Navy disclosed"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Nuclear byproduct levels on Treasure Island higher than Navy disclosed

by Matt Smith and Katharine Mieszkowski
Center for Investigative Reports (CA)
April 12, 2013

Land slated for development on Treasure Island contains elevated  
concentrations of cesium-137, a byproduct of nuclear fission  
associated with an increased risk of cancer, according to an  
independent analysis commissioned by the Center for Investigative  
Reporting.

The findings, discovered through soil samples gathered by reporters  
and tested by two independent certified laboratories, appear to  
undermine some past statements by the U.S. Navy about the land’s  
historic uses and the present condition of the island.

Results show cesium-137 levels up to three times that previously  
acknowledged by the Navy and at least 60 percent higher than the  
Navy’s own thresholds for environmental safety.

"The questions raised by your testing should be fully vetted by the  
Navy," said Gary Butner, former chief of the radiologic health branch  
at the California Department of Public Health, who was a state  
watchdog for the Treasure Island cleanup until he retired in 2011. "I  
just don't have a sense there's a strong commitment to go and (clean)  
the site. They just don't want to spend any money there."

...

For the entire article, see
http://cironline.org/reports/nuclear-byproduct-levels-treasure-island- 
higher-navy-disclosed-4362

See also http://cironline.org/reports/how-we-searched-cesium- 
contamination-treasure-island-4361

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org