The LiTungsten Task Force sponsored a meeting in Glen Cove City Hall on Aug. 2 to answer questions and discuss community concerns regarding the findings, last May, of elevated levels of radioactivity in the dredge spoils of Glen Cove Creek. This was the second meeting on the same topic in as many months. Experts from the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA), the Army Corps of Engineers and representatives from the state and county health departments and the State Department of Environmental Conservation attended the meeting. They were there to shed light on the danger, if any, to public health posed by the previously undetected "nuggets" of radioactive material found by the EPA among the 22,000 cubic yards of material dredged from the Creek by the Army Corps of Engineers. The 22,000 cubic yards represents half of the total dredging project which would make the Creek navigable. Until five years ago, the Creek had not been dredged in just over 30 years and it is one of several projects within the Suozzi administration's ambitious waterfront revitalization project. The sole representative of the City of Glen Cove was CDA director Rosemary Olsen. On behalf of the LiTungsten Task Force co-chairpersons Peter Rapelje and Corin Dunne attended with several Task Force members. Also in the audience were members of the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee, the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor, the North Shore Environmental Alliance, the Citizens Committee Against Toxic Environment, (CATE), representatives from Konica Imaging, radiologist Dr. Steven Weck and Dr. Roy Speiser and Ron Abrams who are well-versed on environmental issues and own companies focused on keeping the environment clean and safe.

The dredged material had been temporarily piled "upland" at the LiTungsten federal Superfund site for proper disposal. When EPA tested it the instruments registered positive for radioactivity. The dredging of the Creek, a federal navigation channel, was suspended as the surprised federal, state and local environmental agencies considered their options. EPA installed additional fencing and warning signs around the perimeter of Parcel A, (where the material was piled), and within the interior of the LiTungsten property to prevent public access. High volume air sampling was conducted, as was an on-site analysis of the material. Environmental officials determined that there is no airborne threat to public health and it was suggested that the dredged material be kept moist.

Mark Pane, an engineer with the EPA and the on-site coordinator at the LiTungsten Superfund site, said a misconception exists regarding what the radioactive material really is. Mr. Pane said the radioactivity was found in solid nodules of material discovered during a surficial survey of the Creek with field instruments that detect radiation up to six inches deep. The material has a loose surface and is restricted to point sources. It is light gray to black in color, denser than mud, and its size and shape varies from that of an AA battery to a brick. The material has been at the bottom of the creek between 20 and 40 years. Once identified, any material exceeding established radiological contamination levels of 5pCi/g were transferred to the Dickson Warehouse for future disposal.

Mr. Pane thinks that the radioactivity is probably from slag generated through the "cooking" process used at the LiTungsten facility when it was in operation years ago. He said the reason it was not detected five years ago is simply because the testing instruments would have to have been right on top of the radioactivity to detect it. The radioactive contamination is not uniformly spread throughout the Creek.

Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Rick Leonard said, "The Army Corps suspended the dredging project prior to the detection of radioactivity. It was suspended when we discovered oil-laden sediment upstream of LiTungsten. The oil-contaminated layer of sediment is on two scows on the Creek. The Army Corps must build a containment cell for that materiel. Having stopped the dredging, the City of Glen Cove began the process of removing the material stored on Parcel A and that's when the radioactivity was discovered. We can't pinpoint where in the Creek the material came from. But common sense would say it was near LiTungsten," said Mr. Leonard. He then provided a timeline for the next steps on the Creek. By Nov. 1, EPA will have the results of new samplings and testing of the Creek's sediment. Plans and specs for continued dredging will be finalized by Dec. 1. By January, 2002, the contract for dredging will be advertised with bids opened by Feb. 2. The contract will be awarded by March 2 and the dredging will proceed on April 2. This schedule is predicated on the EPA and Army Corps not finding significant amounts of radioactive material and that the material currently stored on Parcel A is ready for removal so that the new spoils can be stored.

The timeline to clean-up the material could be five or six months. Adding to the bureaucratic delay is that, by law, the Responsible Parties, must be given the opportunity to clean-up the material. The Responsible Parties are the LiTungsten Remedial Design Group, (Teledyne, Allegheny Technologies and another dozen or so companies). The EPA has contacted them and anticipates a response by next week. LiTungsten EPA project manager Ed Als said even if the Responsible Parties do not perform the cleanup, the EPA will do it and go after them for the money. To date, the EPA has spent more than $10 million at the LiTungsten site. So far, the Responsible Parties have not been willing to perform other work under consent or even when ordered by the EPA. They have yet to be ordered to clean-up the dredge material.

Dr. Weck, Dr. Speiser and Mr. Abrams took issue with the EPA's and Army Corps' assessment that public health is not at risk. A particular sore point was that the EPA is not keeping the radioactive spoils moist at all times, considering the recent heat and dry spell, and that the dust, once airborne, could pose a threat to everyone. Mr. Abrams had no use for airborne monitoring because he said airborne problems are detected once the problem exists, not before which compromises the public health. The three men remained unconvinced, as did representatives from CATE, that the EPA could not detect the radiation during their earlier surveys of the Creek. Dr. Weck said that certain levels of radiation become dangerous when exposure is over a given period of time.