Safety Light Corporation

Overview

The Safety Light Corporation site sits on about 10 acres near Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. From the 1940s through the 1980s, the facility made self-illuminated watches, instrument dials, smoke detectors, and exit signs using radioactive materials. That work left buildings, soil, groundwater, lagoons, and an abandoned canal contaminated with a mix of radioactive and non-radioactive substances. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in April 2005, making it eligible for federal Superfund cleanup funding.

Radioactive contaminants include radium-226, strontium-90, cesium-137, tritium, actinium-227, americium-241, cobalt-60, lead-210, neptunium, nickel-63, and thallium-204. Non-radioactive contaminants include metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury, along with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, cyanide, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Contamination appears in soil and in building structures, with some radioactive substances also found in groundwater.

Cleanup is organized into four operable units (OUs). For buildings (OU-1), EPA demolished all structures and removed contaminated debris to licensed disposal facilities, finishing in November 2015. For soils (OU-3), EPA excavated roughly 25,030 tons of contaminated material from dumping areas, lagoons, and the abandoned canal between August 2016 and September 2019. Excavated areas were backfilled, covered, and revegetated. The site is fully fenced with warning signs. For groundwater (OU-2), EPA installed monitoring wells in 2007 and continues collecting samples. A record of decision for groundwater is estimated between May and July 2026, with remedial action projected to follow in fall 2026 through summer 2027.

EPA completed a five-year review in July 2021. That review found the OU-1 remedy complete and protective of human health and the environment. The interim remedy for OU-3 was also found protective. However, EPA currently has insufficient data to conclude whether human exposures are fully controlled or whether groundwater contamination is stabilized. Physical construction is not yet complete across all units, and the site has not been deleted from the National Priorities List.

Community members can review site documents at the Bloomsburg Public Library at 225 Market Street or at the EPA Region III office in Philadelphia by calling 215-814-2396 to schedule an appointment. EPA has published fact sheets, a Community Involvement Plan, and status updates covering cleanup progress from 2004 through the present. A proposed plan for OU-2, which addresses contamination in private drinking wells, is also available in the Administrative Record. EPA is also working with local stakeholders on a reuse suitability assessment to identify potential future land uses for the property.