Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
IONIA COUNTY
BELDING

Congressional District # 03

H & K SALES

EPA ID# MI0001271535
Last Updated: December, 2007

Site Description

The H&K Sales site is also known as the Belding Warehouse site.  The site is located on Bridge Street in a large warehouse in downtown Belding, Michigan, next to the town library, a set of railroad tracks, and the Flat River.  H&K Sales, Inc. had rented space in 1994 in the Belding Warehouse building to store (with the intent to resell) World War II-era aircraft parts that had been purchased at military surplus sales (by others) shortly after the war was over.  However, some of the airplane parts (gauges and meters) had originally been painted with small amounts of radium-226, a solid, naturally-occurring radioactive isotope (to cause them to glow in the dark so the gauges could be read during night bombing missions).  The radium-226 isotope gives off or emits alpha particle and gamma radiation when it decays, which is potentially harmful to human health.  Moreover, the radium-226 isotope also decays into radon-222, a gaseous, radioactive isotope and a further human health threat.

Site Responsibility

The site was addressed through federal and state actions.

Threats and Contaminants

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), in consultation with the state of Michigan, estimated that H&K Sales, Inc. had stored approximately 160,000 cubic feet of potentially contaminated aircraft gauges, dials, propellers, and other components in the warehouse. U.S. EPA estimated that the amount of radium-226 present was in excess of state and federal human health guidelines.  U.S. EPA also found that the floors and walls of the several large storage areas within the building were contaminated with dust containing radium-226.  Additionally, U.S. EPA measured some very high radon-222 levels in some parts of the building but we found no radium-226 outside of the warehouse.

Employees of H&K Sales, Inc. and others using or visiting the warehouse, nearby residents, and trespassers would have run the risk of being exposed to radioactivity from radium-226 in the form of alpha particles and gamma radiation.  Exposure to high levels of radon gas was also a potential health threat.  Moreover, if a fire would have occurred in the warehouse before any cleanup actions were completed, the potential for a widespread release of radium-226 (above state and federal guidelines) in the smoke plume to the city of Belding would be present.

Cleanup Progress

U.S. EPA began a non-time-critical removal action at the site in January 1997 to abate the immediate threat to public health and the environment from the potential widespread release of and the potential exposure to radium-226.  After securing the building and its contents, U.S. EPA removed the radiologically-contaminated items and disposed of them in low-level nuclear waste repositories located in the states of Washington and Utah.  U.S. EPA also released non-impacted materials back to H&K Sales, Inc. or disposed of them in a local landfill, as appropriate.

Next U.S. EPA tested the interior floors and walls of the warehouse after removing the contaminated materials to check whether potentially harmful levels of radium-226 were still present.  The floors and walls were then decontaminated as necessary.  After cleaning, the floors and walls were retested to ensure that the decontamination step was completed and successful.  U.S. EPA finished all cleanup actions in October 1997 and released the warehouse building back to the owner for unrestricted use.

U.S. EPA released a final cleanup decision, "No Further Action," in November 1997.  The site was deleted from the National Priorities List on May 21, 1998.

Success Story

The H&K Sales site was "quick-listed" to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1996 (proposed in late 1995, final in June 1996) because of the potential magnitude of the health threats posed by the radium-226 levels inside the warehouse building.  U.S. EPA was able to perform a swift, effective and safe cleanup action in 1997 to address the radium-226 levels, both returning the building to productive use and deleting the site from the NPL within a very short amount of time.

Community Involvement

U.S. EPA held a public meeting in April 1996 to discuss the site and the potential health threats, and present a proposed cleanup plan for public comment.   Later, when U.S. EPA prepared to begin the cleanup action, U.S. EPA representatives met with Belding officials to brief them on our cleanup plans and schedule.

As the cleanup action was nearing completion, U.S. EPA held another public meeting in September 1997 to announce the completion of the cleanup and to issue a proposed plan for no further action at the site.

Property Reuse

After site cleanup, U.S. EPA released the warehouse back to the owner for unrestricted use.

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
kevin adler (adler.kevin@epa.gov)
(312) 886-7078

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
Don De Blasio
(312) 886-9749

Aliases

BELDING WAREHOUSE
H & K SALES (MICHIGAN RADIOLOGIC)

 

Site Profile Information

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