Soil that’s contaminated with radioactive material has been found at Niagara Falls State Park, according to reports.
The waste — called TENORM, or Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material — turned up at a closed-off construction site at the tourist haven, WGRZ-TV reported.
“These materials were currently contained in a secure, fenced in area, that’s inaccessible to the public. The materials do not pose a risk to public health,” said Randy Simons, a spokesman for the state’s Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Simons told the network that construction crews working on a new entranceway and bus loop found the discolored soil about a month ago. It was sent off for testing by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, which confirmed it contained TENORM and traces of Benzopyrene, a potentially cancer-causing chemical, according to WIVB-TV. The soil also contained petroleum waste.
Officials insist that the public is not at risk.
“I think the term radioactive sends shock waves, however in this particular situation, it’s a naturally occurring material and it’s showing up in very, very low levels,” New York State parks spokeswoman Angela Berti told WIVB.
Beginning Thursday, the hazardous material will be removed from the site and shipped off to a facility in Ohio.
Pat Proctor, chairman of the Niagara Falls Tourism Advisory Board, said he only learned of the radioactive soil when contacted by a reporter.
“This type of publicity is never good,” Proctor said.
But he believed officials would’ve notified the public if the material truly posed a danger.
“If it was a situation alarming enough where they needed to notify us, and they didn’t, then, yeah, I’d be a little upset,” he said.
The news, however, didn’t deter tourists visiting the massive waterfalls.
“I don’t think this will keep us away,” Don Evans, who was visiting from Shickshinny, Pennsylvania, told WGRZ-TV. “I’ve got a great-granddaughter that we can’t wait to get here… I feel they’ll take care of it and move on.”
It’s not the first time radioactive earth has been found at Niagara.
“We found some at the park police station site, we found some at the Cave of the Winds when we were putting in new sidewalks, so anytime we encounter this in the park, we have not only contained it but removed it outright,” Simons said.
State parks officials believe the contaminants may have been left behind from a gas station and bus terminal that occupied the land many years ago. They may have also come from landfill that was brought in to build the Robert Moses parkway in 1960s.
