Uranium found in residents and workers near former National Lead's Colonie plant

The Business Review (Albany)

A joint study by the University at Albany and the University of Leicester in England has found uranium in workers and residents who lived near the former National Lead Industries munitions plant in Colonie between 1958 and 1982.

The study, which will be published in the January issue of Science of the Total Environment, also found potentially hazardous particles from dust at businesses and homes near the former NL factory.

The study was released by UAlbany on Wednesday, two months after the federal government completed a nearly $200 million clean up of the former NL Industries plant at 1130 Central Avenue.

Texas-based NL Industries operated in Colonie for 24 years until a state Supreme Court ruling closed the Central Avenue factory for illegal uranium emissions.

UAlbany science professor John Arnason compared depleted uranium laden dust to particles found on battlefields and test ranges where depleted uranium weapons had been used.

"Resuspension of contaminated dust is a concern," Arnason said.

NL Industries used depleted uranium at the Colonie plant to make armor-piercing munitions.

Researchers argue that the findings illustrate the need to look further to determine how contaminated people are and the impacts of the contamination.