PETITIONED PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
OTTAWA RADIATION AREAS
OTTAWA, LASALLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND OTHER HAZARDS
Surface Water: No sampling data have been collected by either the EPA or the State of Illinois to adequately assess the levels of contaminants in surface waters associated with Ottawa.
Ground Water: No sampling data have been collected to assess adequately the levels of contaminants in ground water associated with Ottawa. It is known, however, that aquifers in this region contain levels of radium, a naturally occurring decay product of uranium, above the EPA's drinking water standard (NCRP, 1984a; Kristoff, et al., 1990).
Air: Contaminants in air include both gamma radiation and radon with the exposure rates varying from area to area within Ottawa. Gamma radiation levels (exposure rates) measured at 19 areas are given in Appendix II, Table I and ranged from 10 microroentgens per hour (µR/h) to approximately 7 milliroentgens per hour (mR/h).
Radon measurements at many of these areas were also determined (personal communication with Vernita Simon, USEPA). Of the approximately 100 readings, 40 percent exceeded 4 pCi/L, the EPA action level for indoor radon concentrations. Twenty structures exceeded 10 pCi/L and of these, two structures were sampled seven times, exceeding a radon concentration of 100 pCi/L. Several of these structures now have had radon reduction systems installed by the EPA. In 1988, radon measurements were collected at most of the sites previously described. Of the areas contaminated with radium from the industrial processes, 4 sites still had elevated radon levels. These levels were approximately 33 pCi/L (Site 2), 142 pCi/L (Site 5), 11.1 pCi/L (Illinois Route 71, site 11), and three addresses located in site 15 (18.1 pCi/L, 221.9 pCi/L, and 78.0 pCi/L). One house at site 15 has been moved to another location. As of this writing, two residences have had radon reduction systems installed. The most recent data from areas with high Rn-222 that have been received by ATSDR are given in Appendix II, Table II.
Soils: Soil readings were obtained from several areas. These were Areas 2, 4, 5, 11, and 15, which were previously identified as landfill areas, and which may contain the greatest amount of radium-containing waste (Argonne, 1989). The extent of soil contamination in these areas ranges from 1.2 to about 11 acres, and volume estimates ranged from approximately 10,000 ft3 to 1 million ft3. Gamma radiation readings for these areas ranged from 25 µR/h to over 12 mR/h (Appendix II, Table III).
Biota: No sampling data have been made available to ATSDR to assess adequately the levels of radioactive material in biota obtained from areas associated with Ottawa.
Because of the nature of the contaminants and descriptions of these widespread areas, there are no areas classified as off-site locations.
C. QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL
In preparing this Petitioned Public Health Assessment, ATSDR relies on the information provided in the referenced documents and assumes that adequate quality assurance and quality control measures were followed. These include chain-of-custody, laboratory procedures, and data reporting. The validity of the analysis and conclusions drawn for this Petitioned Public Health Assessment is determined by the availability and reliability of the referenced information.
In order to identify other possible facilities that could contribute to the release of contaminants into the environment near Ottawa, ATSDR searched the most recent data contained in the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI). TRI is developed by the EPA from the chemical release (air, water, and soil) information provided by specified industries. In searching the data base by city, there were no reporting facilities in this area that released the radioactive contaminant of concern or radioactive materials.
No structures or equipment that could be classified as physical hazards were observed during the
site visit. However, the areas with elevated levels of radioactivity are within publicly accessible
areas of the city. Only the conservation area (Area 11) was delineated as a radiation area as
required by the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 10, Parts 20.203 and 20.1902.
A. ENVIRONMENTAL PATHWAYS (FATE AND TRANSPORT)
Surface Water: The Conservation Area, Area 11, borders the Fox River. Radium-containing soils can enter the river because of runoff or leaching from the landfilled areas. No other naturally occurring surface waters were observed at the area. A few of the clay pits associated with some the areas contain standing water. Contaminants in these areas may leach into these pools.
Ground water: Unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifers as well as sedimentary bedrock aquifers supply ground water in Ottawa. The sand and gravel aquifers are composed of glacial drift at depths of 600 feet. Depending on the thickness, permeability, and continuity, wells in these systems can produce about 1,000 gallons per minute (gpm). The bedrock aquifer is composed of sandstone that could produce about 20 gpm (USGS, 1985). Additional specific information was not available concerning the hydrogeology in the Ottawa area. However, the concentration of naturally occurring radium in ground water obtained from this area is known to exceed the Primary Drinking Water Standard of 5 pCi/L. In 1976, water samples were collected from public well water supplies in the greater Chicago (Cook County) area. The results of this study, published in 1990, showed that deep wells (a depth greater than 1,200 feet) contained higher concentrations of Ra-226 than that of shallow ground-water wells. The amount of Ra-226 detected was as high as 17 pCi/L in the deep wells. Although the data for shallow wells does not specifically mention Ra-226, the total alpha activity, including Ra-226 did not exceed the EPA Drinking Water Standard of 15 pCi/L (Kristoff, et al., 1990).
Private wells on some properties in Ottawa, nonetheless, may contain elevated concentrations of Ra-226 as a result of contaminant migration from the buried material to the subsurface water supply. Other areas, as a result of leaching from buried materials, may contribute radium to the aquifer serving as the area water source.
Air: Pathways include the presence of radon gas and radon progeny in enclosed spaces, and the exposure to ionizing radiation as gamma rays, resulting from the radioactive decay of radium and radon both indoors and outdoors. Exposure pathways can also occur via fugitive dusts generated by normally occurring processes such as erosion and by construction or remediation processes.
Soils: Soils at many areas within Ottawa contain elevated levels of Ra-226 present at 1 to 15 feet in depth. The intensity of gamma radiation and Rn-222 concentration present at these locations depends on the depth and quantity of Ra-226 at these locations.
Biota: Rn-222 is an inert gas and will not concentrate in biota. However, its decay products can deposit on the surface of biota. Ra-226 chemistry is similar to calcium and therefore will concentrate in biota that concentrate calcium, passing the radium up the food chain to humans.
Routes for external exposure to ionizing radiation from Ra-226 and Rn-222 include being near contaminated areas and the contact with Ra-226 and Rn-222 contaminated ground water. Additional exposure can occur indoors in those structures containing high levels of Rn-222 and those situated near or upon soils containing high quantities of Ra-226.
Exposure to gamma radiation produced by Ra-226 can also occur because of being near soils and zones containing high quantities of Ra-226 contaminated soils. Although much of the Ra-226 is below grade, the penetrating power of gamma radiation is sufficient to expose individuals at a distance from the source. An estimate of the annual gamma ray exposure for each site has been made and these results are in Appendix II, Table IV. The estimates are for an 8-hour, 5 days per week, 50 weeks per year scenario (8-5-50) and a 16-7-52 scenario.
Exposure to Ra-226 can occur via the ingestion of ground water obtained from shallow wells and containing Ra-226 and perhaps Rn-222 (depending on degree of aeration and time between storage and ingestion). Exposure can also occur via ingestion of soils and food chain constituents containing Ra-226 and via inhalation and ingestion of fugitive dusts and airborne particles containing Ra-226.
Exposure to radioactive materials can occur via the inhalation of Rn-222 and radon progeny in
structures containing high levels of these radioactive materials.
Based on the levels of Ra-226 present in soils and water and Rn-222 present in the atmosphere, the public health concern is with the radiological hazard to human health in certain areas in the city. There is also concern about past exposure to workers of the radium dial painting facilities.
The exposure of citizens in Ottawa to gamma rays is of public health concern to ATSDR. As shown in Appendix II, Table IV, the annual exposure can be significant in some areas during an average 40 hour work week. For example, in areas 3, 4, 7, 8, and 12, the annual exposure could range from 200 mR to 40,000 mR. In areas associated with residential areas, Areas 9, 15, and 18, the annual exposure could exceed one R exposure. People either working or living in these areas, therefore, could be exposed to potentially harmful levels of ionizing radiation.
According to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), the continuous or frequent annual external radiation exposure to a population should not exceed 100 millirem per year (mrem/y). A limit of 500 mrem/y for an individual should be applied for an infrequent annual exposure (NCRP, 1987). If the proposed limit of 500 mrem/y for an individual is used for the contaminated areas in Ottawa, those sites in which the radiation exposure rate exceeds 60 µR/h would be considered to be excessive exposure areas. If a conservative background gamma exposure in the area is 10-20 µR/h, the exposure rate resulting in an overexposure at these properties would be approximately 100 µR/h. However, it must be noted that if the radiological areas are not heavily travelled or occupied 100 percent of the time, the estimated exposure to an individual should be modified accordingly.
Recently, the National Academy of Sciences released the BEIR V report (BEIR, 1990). This report reevaluated the risks of radiation exposure based on the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and reviewed the epidemiological evidence for biological effects of radiation exposure. Using these new risk estimates, the citizens of Ottawa may be at a greater risk of developing cancer than members of the general public if exposure continues at the present rate. However, at exposure levels less than 500 mR, there is disagreement among the scientific community regarding the effects of exposure and the potential for the induction of disease states. Because of this uncertainty in the scientific community, ATSDR believes that an adequate evaluation of any public health implications as a result of exposure to the lower levels of gamma radiation present at Ottawa cannot be made at the present time. ATSDR, however, believes that until the effects of low level radiation are clearly understood, exposures should be kept as low as reasonably possible.
The major health effects resulting from internally deposited Ra-226 are noted in cases dealing with occupational exposure, the majority being radium dial painters. The major type of radiation inducing damage from internally deposited Ra-226 is the alpha particle. This decay particle travels very short distances and the majority, if not all its energy is absorbed within the structure where the Ra-226 is deposited. As most of the ingested Ra-226 deposits in bones, the greatest exposure and dose is delivered to bone surfaces and perhaps the blood-forming bone marrow.
Studies have shown that internal deposition of Ra-226 results in the induction of skeletal tumors and paranasal sinus carcinomas (cancer of the sinus cavities) (Keane, et al., 1987; BEIR, 1988). Argonne National Laboratory and its Center for Human Radiobiology have studied the human health effects of radium deposition for over 20 years. Stebbings, et al. (1984) reported that in U.S. white females employed as dial painters, the rates of liver, pancreatic, cervical, and uterine cancers were not related to radium exposure. Some cancers of the digestive system may have been indirectly related to radium exposure. They reported that although there was an increase in multiple myeloma (a form of leukemia), indications were that this increase was related more to the length of employment than the amount of radium in the body. This indirectly suggests the myeloma may be due to the external exposure to the gamma radiation emitted during the radioactive decay of Ra-226.
As of 1984, almost 6,000 individuals with all types of exposure to radium had been located throughout the United States (Rundo, et al., 1985). Of these numbers, 1,907 dial painters had been located and the radium body burden measured. In this group, there were 44 cases of bone tumors and 19 cases of sinus or mastoid (associated with the head) carcinomas. These totals include 3 individuals with both types of illnesses. The study concluded that these illnesses and skeletal tissue deterioration were nevertheless unquestionably related to the presence of internal radium.
A member of the naturally occurring uranium series, Ra-226 decays by the emission of alpha particles and a gamma ray. The physical half-life is over 1,600 years (DHEW, 1970). With a biological half-life of 16,400 days (bone) and 900 days total body, Ra-226 nonuniformly deposits within bone with about 70 percent of the Rn-222 produced, because of Ra-226 decay, diffusing into the blood system and ultimately exhaled. The International Commission on Radiological Protection has set an annual limit of intake (ALI) for Ra-226 deposited on bone surfaces to about 1.9 microcuries by ingestion and 0.54 microcuries via inhalation. The EPA presently limits the amount of Ra-226 and Ra-228 in drinking water to 5 pCi/L and total (gross) alpha activity to 15 pCi/L (CFR-40).
Because Rn-222 is an inert gas, most of the inhaled gas is exhaled, with only that which decayed possibly remaining within the lungs. The radioactive materials deposited within the lung expose the bronchial epithelium lining the respiratory system, resulting in a risk of lung cancer (BEIR, 1988 ; NCRP, 1984b). There have been direct correlations between the exposure to radon and radon progeny and the appearance of lung cancer in humans. The initial epidemiological studies of radon exposure began in 1879 in Europe. Since then, these studies have spread worldwide and are still in progress. The studies involve uranium miners and show increasing risks of lung carcinomas as accumulated exposure to these products increased (BEIR, 1988). Rn-222 decays by the emission of an alpha particle and gamma rays. The half-life of Rn-222 is 3.8 days (DHEW, 1970). The decay products are also radioactive, emitting alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays. These radon progeny, with half-lives ranging from seconds to over 20 years, ultimately decay to a stable (non-radioactive) form of lead.
The Public Health Implications of radon exposure are difficult to evaluate. Radon is inert and therefore does not attach to surfaces. However, the decay progeny are charged particles and can electrostatically attach to surfaces. Most progeny immediately attach to aerosols. The ratio of attached progeny to unattached progeny is important in dose calculations for as the ratio increases, the radiation dose to lung surfaces increases. Other factors affecting the lung dose include the ratio of Rn-222 to its progeny, the breathing patterns, lung characteristics, sex, and age of the individual exposed. In a recent report from the National Academy of Sciences, the dose from the radon progeny was the greater risk than exposure to radon gas (BEIR, 1988). Dose estimates have been published by the NCRP and include those factors (NCRP, 1984b). The NCRP estimates that the risk of developing lung cancer following a lifetime exposure to Rn-222 is 2.1 x 10-3 per pCi/L exposure under environmental conditions. The NCRP also states that the dose to the bronchial regions of a typical working adult because of exposure to Rn-222 is 0.27 rad per year per pCi/L. For a ten year old child (12 hours active, 12 hours resting), the dose estimate is 0.45 rad/year per pCi/L.
B. Health Outcome Data Evaluation
In order to assess the health risks resulting from exposure to radium and gamma radiation because of past exposures, the Riggan database of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were used. This database is a compendium of reported cancer types and location for individual counties and states as compared to the United States rates. The data cover mortality trends from 1950 to 1979. The types of cancer evaluated for this petitioned public health assessment included cancer of the oral cavity and tongue, bone and jaw cancer, and cancer of the respiratory system including the trachea, bronchus, lung and plueura. These cancer locations were chosen because of the discontinued practice of tip wetting of radium paint containing brushes, inhalation of radon and radon decay products and bones where radium preferentially deposits.
The cancer rates in LaSalle County, Tazewell County, and Illinois are given in Appendix II, Tables V-VII. Tazewell County was chosen as a control county. These results indicate that the cancer rates in males in LaSalle and Tazewell counties do not differ from the rates in the United States (Appendix II, Table V, VI). The cancer rates in Tazewell County for females do not differ from the rates in the United States (Appendix II, Table VI). However, in LaSalle County from 1960 to 1969, the cancer rates for bone and jaw cancer were significantly elevated over those rates for the United States (Appendix II, Table V). It is of interest to note that the cancer rates from 1950 to 1979 in males and females for all cancers in the state of Illinois are significantly elevated as compared to the United States. Bone and jaw cancer in the state only exceeded the rates in the United States from 1970 to 1979. In both LaSalle County and Tazewell County as well as the state of Illinois, the rates of leukemia as compared to the United States were not significant. The rates of cancer of the oral cavity and tongue and cancer of the respiratory system including the trachea, bronchus, lung and plueura in LaSalle County were not significantly different from rates in the U.S. However, the state of Illinois as compared to the United States showed elevated levels of these cancers in both men and women (Table VII).
Because the bone and jaw cancers were elevated in females during the decade of 1960 to 1969, it is possible that the former workers of the dial painting operations in Ottawa composed a large percentage of these deaths. The dial painting operations reportedly ran continuously from 1920 to 1978 except for a two year period from 1930 to 1932. However, tip wetting ceased in 1926. If one estimates that bone cancer could have a latency period approaching 30 years, then the elevated cancer mortality rates in females from 1960 to 1969 could be attributable to the radium operations at these locations.
C. Community Health Concerns Evaluation
Based on the concerns expressed to ATSDR by LCHD, ATSDR obtained a copy of the Bertrand study which evaluated health problems related to radium and radiation exposure in Ottawa (Bertrand, 1988). The Division of Health Studies (DHS), ATSDR, has reviewed the report prepared for the LCHD, Chronic Disease Program. The DHS has concerns about the report's findings and the concerns are listed in Appendix IV. In essence, DHS found the study to be flawed in several instances. DHS findings were that the study was based on a limited population, possible inaccurate evaluation of hospital records, and was not adjusted for population age. Using information obtained from the Centers for Disease Control Riggan Tapes, cancer mortality in LaSalle County does not differ significantly from the State of Illinois and the United States except for bone and jaw cancer (see Appendix IV for additional information).
After the release of the film, "Radium City," there were several newspaper reports expressing concern about the contents of this documentary. The agency has reviewed the film and believes the historical portions of the film to be correct. The producers interviewed a former dial painter, recalling her work experience in the paint factory during the 1920s. The producers also discussed the demolition of the former Radium Dial Company and interviewed persons associated with the demolition of the Luminous Processes Incorporated location. However, there were some potential inaccuracies with the film. For example, the opening scene indicates that the gravesites shown are those of the deceased dial painters; the viewer is not given any verification to the claim. The narrator further states that one can take a radiation detector to the cemetery and detect the radiation. There is no discussion of normal background radiation versus elevated radiation readings and ATSDR has not received information indicating elevated radiation levels in the vicinity of the cemetery. Other radiation readings collected and shown by a citizen of Ottawa suggest elevated levels. These readings and other measurements have been verified by trained personnel. The news articles reviewed by ATSDR adequately address the film's content.
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