Unexpected Radiation 'Hot Spots' Found In NYC [View All]

[mhatrw]

Very nearby one of these "hot spots" is the Fresh Kills landfill where the WTC debris was taken.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/9904214/detail.html

Anti-terrorism officials conducted a helicopter survey of New York City's radiation sources in preparation for a so-called "dirty bomb" attack -- and discovered a Staten Island park with dangerously high levels of radium, a new report found. Federal authorities found 80 unexpected "hot spots" around New York City, according to the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

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The report does not identify which city park had the contaminated soil, but NYPD officials said it was in Gateway National Park in Staten Island. The site was closed, and New York has requested federal money to do a citywide aerial survey every year to update the information.

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The helicopters picked up sources of low-level radiation from expected places, like granite statues and medical isotopes at hospitals, but it also found dozens of other sources of unexpected radioactivity, the GAO report found.

At the Staten Island park, sensors detected large quantities of radium in the soil. Long-term exposure to radium increases the risk of developing lymphoma, bone cancer and leukemia. National Park Service spokesman Brian Feeney said the area is a one-acre piece of the 570-acre Great Kills Park, which is part of the larger Gateway park.