if you’re familiar with Watertown, Massachusetts, you’ll know of its charming elm trees, friendly neighborhood smiles, and the U.S. Army Nuclear Waste Incinerator. oh, but don’t worry, nuclear waste hasn’t been burned since waaaaaaaaaay back in 1992. and only at a random, secluded site, you now know as the Arsenal Mall. oh, but don’t worry, only certain specific on-site ares are still contaminated. and only a semi-small part of the air, the Charles River, the soil, and groundwater are still contaminated by depleted uranium (DU).

PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
U.S. ARMY MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY
WATERTOWN, MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS

read the whole thing, i insist.

DU was burned at the site from no later than 1972 all the way until 1991, with approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission finally coming in on March 28, 1980. that’s nice.

the Army says the DU was “…unlikely to be at levels considered harmful to residents of the surrounding community”, and has restricted access to the remaining contaiminated areas. the problem is, “unlikely” doesn’t sound too certain. not to mention the fact that there are still DU-contaminated areas directly on the Arsenal Mall property.

at the laboratory, from the airborne radionuclides:
“The data from our CAP88-PC calculations indicates that the exposure to the entire body was less than 200 mrem per year. This equates to a lifetime cancer mortality risk that is 10 times less than the risk expected from 70 years of exposure to natural radiation in the environment.”

doesn’t that mean that the people exposed to the radiation have an extra 1/10th of natural radiation exposure? which means 110% of normal exposure?

also, there are details like this:

“We advise Watertown residents not to use private wells for domestic purposes because past industrial activity has contaminated groundwater in some parts of the community.”

“No one is currently being exposed to residual contamination, which is buried and, in some areas, paved over on the FUDS parcel. However, because the Army no longer controls the property, current or future landowners could further develop the land, possibly leading to exposure of utility or construction workers who might unearth contaminated materials.”

it seems like the Army was just concerned with making sure that as long as no one got into the contaminated areas, nothing would happen. but since they relinquished control of the property, they can’t guarantee that.

this wouldn’t be much of a concern if the property wasn’t the site of a mall, with the commercial and residental developments around it. as well as the Charles River, which borders the property. but draw your own conclusions.