The scanning survey Radiological scanning equipment being used in another building at Alameda Point. Plans for removing radium paint stains from floors, walls, and ceiling areas have received little public attention, however. The Navy’s recently-proposed plan for leaving radium contaminated drain lines in place has been criticized by the city and the Restoration Advisory Board for being inadequate. There remain only three areas of concern for radium contamination at Building 5 – the mezzanine painting area, some storm sewer lines under the ground floor slab, and the old industrial waste line under West Tower Ave. By spring of 2012, the dredging of the Seaplane Lagoon was completed. By 2010 the Navy had either removed or cleaned the drains leading to the lagoon. It ended up in storm drains leading to the Seaplane Lagoon and the lagoon itself. It’s no wonder that paint waste was dumped down storm drains in those days. Hundreds of products were marketed that touted the health benefits of radium, including skin creams, bath salts, and even “growth-inducing” plant fertilizers. The harmful health effects of radium were not understood in the mid-20 th century. The Navy plans to begin removing the radium contamination from the mezzanine area in December of 2012 or January of 2013. The middle of Building 5, in the mezzanine area, is where radium-226 luminescent paint was applied to aircraft dials and other devices from 1941 to the mid 1950s.
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