Austin Avenue Radiation Site

Overview

W.L. Cummings Radium Processing Company ran a radium-refining facility at this site from 1915 to 1925. That operation spread radium, thorium, radon, and asbestos across 40 privately owned residential properties in six Pennsylvania municipalities. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1992 and organized cleanup into three operable units covering sitewide removal, homes remediation, and groundwater.

Radium-226 and thorium-230 were detected in soil and debris at the homes operable unit. Radium, thorium, radon, and asbestos were also present in buildings and structures on affected properties. EPA investigated groundwater and found no threat there, selecting no action for the groundwater operable unit in September 1996.

Cleanup ran from late 1995 through November 1997. Workers removed radioactive materials, demolished eight contaminated houses and repaired one, permanently relocated residents from the eight demolished homes, rebuilt ten houses, and excavated contaminated soils from 21 properties. About 20,000 tons of radiologically contaminated material were shipped off site for disposal. All homes were rebuilt or residents relocated by February 1998, and all properties were returned to owners or transferred to local municipalities. EPA completed construction in September 1999.

A Five-Year Review in December 2000 confirmed that cleanup remedies were effective and protective of human health and the environment. EPA deleted the site from the National Priorities List in April 2002. Human exposure is under control, with no unacceptable exposure pathways remaining. Groundwater migration is also under control. Institutional controls remain in place on properties where soils could not be fully removed, restricting land uses inconsistent with cleanup levels. As of December 2024, one business operates at the site, employing 8 people and generating roughly $610,000 in annual sales.

Community members who want to learn more can review publicly available documents including a Final Close-Out Report, the 2000 Five-Year Review, a Remedial Action Report, and fact sheets from 1996. Records are also available at the EPA Region 3 office at 1600 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Appointments can be scheduled by calling (215) 814-2396.