Army Corps of Engineers recommends no further action on Scott Township site
The city will be holding a public hearing later this month to get feedback on the proposed changes to the zoning code.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a report on Friday stating that the former steel and Uranium plant in Scott Township will not require any further remediation.
Superior Steel is located in Scott Township on 37 acres. It was a steel mill from 1800 to 1960. Between 1952 and 1957, it also had a uranium-processing plant. The plant is closed since the 1960s, but officials from the federal government said that natural uranium and depleted-uranium were processed there.
According to the report, the Army Corps found that the investigation began in 2007. There was no reprocessed Uranium in either the soil or the building. The tests conducted in 2014 and 2019, included geophysical surveys, soil tests and soil tests, all aimed at detecting radionuclides. These are substances which emit radiation when they decay.
The report stated that "the results of the baseline assessment of human health risks show that there are no unacceptable risks to receptors arising from current or reasonable anticipated future land use." The ecological risk assessment shows that the potential of uranium to have adverse environmental impacts is negligible.
In three locations, one in the middle and three others in the north of the property, the tests found uranium levels higher than soil screening levels. Three buildings also had some radioactive contamination. The report stated that the uranium concentrations at Chartiers Creek were below screening levels for human health. According to the report, the high levels of uranium in soil in certain spots did not pose a threat to the human health or environment. It also said that there was no unacceptable risk of cancer or chance of receiving a radioactive dose in the three buildings with some radioactive contamination.
The report stated that "therefore, there is no need for further action to protect the human health and environment from residual contamination on site buildings." The report said that a plan to take no further action would not include any remedial actions and would not implement institutional controls.
The report will not be finalized until after a period of public comments that runs from May 8 to 7th, and a public meeting that begins at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, May 24th at the Scott Township Municipal Building.