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PETITIONED PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT

OTTAWA RADIATION AREAS
OTTAWA, LASALLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS


SUMMARY

During an aerial survey for radiation levels following the cleanup of a radium dial painting operation, abnormally high levels of gamma radiation were detected at thirteen locations throughout Ottawa, Illinois. Additional ground level measurements helped to localize these and four additional areas within the city with levels of radioactivity elevated above background. These areas included unrestricted public access areas, residential property, business, and school areas. Field studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety have identified the major contaminant at these areas as radium-226 (Ra-226). Additional studies to determine the levels of radon-222 (Rn-222) within many structures have indicated radon concentrations well above the EPA limit of 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). There is concern among the populace that the levels of radium and radon may have increased the cancer rate in LaSalle County and the City of Ottawa. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry considers the Ottawa Radium Site to be a public health concern. Emissions of Rn-222 into the air and the presence of Ra-226 soils are the primary contaminants of concern for human exposure pathways. There has been documented intake of Ra-226 in workers employed in the dial painting process. Exposure to high levels of Rn-222 in several homes has occurred over time, increasing the chance of developing lung cancers during the occupants' lifetimes. The Health Activities Recommendation Panel of ATSDR recommends that the Ottawa Radiation Sites be considered for follow-up health activities. The ATSDR Health Activities Recommendation Panel (HARP) evaluated the data and information developed in the Ottawa Radiation Sites Petitioned Public Health Assessment. The HARP determined health professions education and community health education would be appropriate follow-up health activities. As a part of these determinations, the Division of Health Education recommends that an environmental health education program be established to advise the public health professional and the local medical community of the nature and possible consequences of exposure to contaminants at this site. The panel also stated that a Health Statistics Review is indicated to determine if an excess of illnesses exists that may be related to those exposures.


BACKGROUND

A. SITE DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY

The City of Ottawa, Illinois, is 80 miles southwest of Chicago. Interstate 80 is to the north with U.S. Highway 6 running east to west and Illinois State Highway 23 north to south through the city. The Fox River flows through the city, merging with the Illinois River, on the southern border, as shown in Appendix I, Figure 1 (Weston, 1988). The LaSalle Nuclear Power Station is within 25 miles of Ottawa.

Ottawa was the location of two radium dial painting companies. The Radium Dial Company (RDC) operated from 1920 to 1930 at the intersection of Columbus and Washington Streets in the building originally occupied by Ottawa High School. Luminous Processes Incorporated (LPI) operated its facility from 1932 to 1978 at the intersection of Jefferson and Clinton Streets. Most employees of these facilities were local residents, mostly young women of ages ranging from the late teens to perhaps the early thirties. These employees painted watch dials and other luminous equipment with radium-containing paint. To obtain a fine point on the paint brushes, many workers would orally moisten the tip, resulting in the ingestion of radium. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this practice of tip wetting by mouth ceased in 1926 (Keane, et al., 1986).

Demolition of the original buildings housing the RDC occurred in 1968, before the implementation of the stringent disposal guidelines of today. Although the disposition of this material is unknown, it is believed to have been deposited in previously strip-mined areas used as landfills.

Operations at LPI ceased in 1978. The Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety (IDNS) began demolition of these facilities in 1984 and completed the work in 1986. The resulting debris, including contaminated soils, sewer lines, and building material, was shipped for disposal to the commercial Richland, Washington, facility located on the Department of Energy Hanford Reservation.

To complete the cleanup of the LPI area, the IDNS requested that EG&G, a Department of Energy contractor, perform an aerial survey of the area. This procedure mapped radiation levels in the area for comparison to background radiation. During the operation, 13 areas with elevated gamma radiation were located, suggesting radioactive waste disposal. In 1987, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did a ground level survey with a specially equipped radiation monitoring van. The results of this survey delineated these 13 areas and 4 additional areas within the city showing gamma radiation levels above background levels. The National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory (formerly the Eastern Environmental Radiation Facility) of the EPA also obtained soil samples from several of these areas. The results of this sampling activity suggested the cause of the radiation levels was radium produced by industrial concerns (because there was no radioactive equilibrium with naturally occurring uranium-238). As the original RDC structures were demolished in 1968, it is possible that some of this contamination is the result of improper disposal of the RDC debris.

During 1988, the National Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control, Centers for Disease Control, issued a Public Health Advisory. In May of that year, the EPA requested additional funding for removal actions. In August 1988, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) received a petition from the LaSalle County Health Department (LCHD) to do a public health assessment for the area of Ottawa, Illinois. In 1991, Ottawa was proposed for inclusion on the EPA National Priorities List.

The area descriptions that follow were obtained from the Site Assessment for the Ottawa Radiation Sites (Weston, 1988).

  1. The LPI building (Area 1) was at Jefferson and Clinton Streets in a commercial area in the approximate center of Ottawa. A commercial operation is directly north of the LPI site. Illinois Power property forms the west border, Jefferson Street is to the south, Fulton Street is on the west and Clinton Street is on the east.

  2. Two lots next to a local high school football field comprise Area 2 near Guion and Lafayette streets on the east side of Ottawa. There are also 3 residences on the lot south of Guion Street. North of Guion Street, the lot appears to have been built up with fill. The lots are believed to be former landfill areas (Appendix I, Figure 2).

  3. The Radium Dial Property (Area 3), is now an asphalt lot and operated by a used car dealership. Located in the center of the Ottawa business district, the lot is bordered to the south by a parking lot for the State Appellate Court, and the former Veterans of Foreign Wars Lodge, demolished in 1990, on the east by residences, and on the north and west by commercial properties. IDNS believes, based on radiation readings, portions of the Radium Dial foundation may still be present below the asphalt (Weston, 1988).

  4. This area (Area 4) is east of the city limits and borders Canal Road, an auto repair and salvage operation and residential areas. This area was once the site of an open coal-mining operation and backfilled to its present condition (Appendix I, Figure 3). The majority of the contaminated soils were removed and shipped to the Pacific Northwest Laboratory for further study.

  5. The Rowney property (Area 5) is a former landfill. It is bordered by Canal Road on the north, a clay pit on the south, residential properties that include the abandoned Rowney house and a junk yard on the east and west, respectively. The Rowney residence has been purchased by IDNS (Appendix I, Figure 4).

  6. The Chicago Brickyard (Area 6) east of the city limits is at a former clay pit. However, this area is not a radium area though anomalous readings were detected during the aerial survey. The reasoning behind the area not being considered as a radium site was that the bricks may contain materials with naturally elevated amounts of uranium and radium.

  7. Area 7 is an alley running between Pine and Sycamore Streets extending from Jackson to Washington Street. The alley is surfaced with dirt, bricks, stones, and asphalt.

  8. Area 8 is on the west side of Ottawa on the north side of Marquette Street. An auto salvage business is on the south side of the street.

  9. Three areas in the northwest side of Ottawa comprise Area 9. One area is in a driveway north of DeLeon Street and the other areas borders DeLeon Street (north), Norris Street (south), Poplar Street (west), and Mulberry Street (east).

  10. Area 10, located south of the Illinois River, was detected in the aerial survey. However, the radiation readings are believed to be contained in naturally occurring sandstone and shale. This area is not considered a radium-contaminated area.

  11. The Conservation Area (Area 11) was once a shale pit and town dump. The area is bordered on the southeast by State Route 71, a landscaping company on the southwest, the Fox River on the northwest and abandoned water filled clay pits on the northwest (Appendix I, Figure 5). This area is delineated as a radiation area and access is partially restricted by a fence on one side of the property. The fence is placarded with radiation signs. Portions of the property are used for equipment storage.

  12. Area 12 surrounds two warehouses on the west of Ottawa in a mostly commercial area. These are bordered by railroad tracks (north), Marquette Street (south), Chestnut Street (east), and an open lot (west).

  13. -14. Areas 13 and 14 are in an open field between the railroad tracks and Joliet Street on the east side of Ottawa. A restaurant is to the west of the property and Guion Street is to the east.

  1. Bellevue Avenue residences and two garages on the northeast side of Ottawa occupy Area 15. The area was used once as a landfill and the residences have been on the area since approximately 1960 (Appendix I, Figure 6).

  2. Area 16 on the west side of Ottawa is bordered by a residence on the north, an alley on the south, Armstrong Street on the west and more residences on the east.

  3. Area 17 is across the street from Area 16.

  4. A flagpole near Paul Street is Area 18. The area around this location is predominantly residential.

  5. The Canal and Division Street Intersection is Area 19, east of the town center. Apparently, the area is limited to asphalt-filled potholes on roughly paved streets. Residences border Division Street.

  6. The radiation beneath the intersection of Fulton and Superior Streets (Area 20) is believed to be caused by bricks containing naturally occurring radioactive substances commonly found in building materials and is not considered a radium contaminated area.

Of these 20 areas, only 17 are considered of interest because of the presence of man-made radium-containing material. Radiation readings at Areas 6, 10, and 20 are believed to be caused by naturally occurring radioactive substances.

B. SITE VISIT

In December 1988, representatives from ATSDR headquarters and Region V staff visited the City of Ottawa and met with the on-scene coordinator from the EPA, various members of the LCHD, and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Following the meeting at the offices of the Health Department, a brief tour of the city was conducted by the EPA. Since that time, ATSDR has reviewed several EPA Action Memoranda and discussed removal options with the EPA.

C. COMMUNITY HEALTH CONCERNS

The prime concern within the community focuses on local cancer incidence levels and apparently arises from the many press and magazine articles that discuss the film "Radium City." This documentary details the lives and occupations of some Ottawa residents who worked in the dial painting operations and reportedly developed cancer or died of cancer and its complications. Several of these articles are attached to Appendix III of this Petitioned Public Health Assessment. Additional concern arises from the context of a report prepared by an intern with the LCHD, Chronic Disease Program. This document reported there were elevated death rates in LaSalle County as compared to a neighboring county and the State of Illinois (Bertrand, 1988). Concern has also been voiced about the high levels of radiation from external sources of radium and the buildup of radon, as a decay product, inside family dwellings and other buildings, and the potential radiation exposure received from artifacts collected by the citizens during the demolition of the buildings housing both radium dial painting operations.


DEMOGRAPHICS, LAND USE, AND NATURAL RESOURCE USE

Approximately 18,000 people reside within the city limits of Ottawa. There are many schools and businesses located in the city and several areas with elevated radiation readings are located in proximity to these and other structures.

The land surrounding the city is used for agricultural and industrial operations. Within Ottawa, the primary historical industry has been the mining of sand deposits along the bank of the Illinois River. Water is supplied to the city by 3 municipal wells, approximately 1,100 feet in depth, and near several radioactively contaminated areas. The radium-226 (Ra-226) concentration in water from these deep wells range from approximately 4 to 10.3 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). Although normal for this area, these levels exceed the EPA limit of 5 pCi/L (CFR-40). These concentrations of Ra-226 are not believed to be related to the improper disposal of debris from the demolished structures. The city is presently studying methods of reducing these concentrations of Ra-226.

The rivers flowing through Ottawa are a source of recreational activities including fishing and water sports. Aquatic life may have been obtained from these surface waters and used as food sources.

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