Donovan Head Start Removal Site

Niagara Falls, New York

The Donovan Head Start site is in a commercial area located at 1631 Main Street, Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York, at the corner of Main Street and Michigan Avenues. The site, which includes a large two-story commercial building, a playground area, and a parking lot, is adjacent to a residential neighborhood that formerly housed a commercial bank.

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Community Development Institute (CDI) operates a head start facility for children at this location

SITE EVALUATION

In fall 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a referral letter from the New York State Health Department (NYSDOH) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to conduct a radiological assessment of the property after low-level radiological material was found in construction waste and soil debris. The waste and debris were generated during a playground improvement project on the property in September 2021.

EPA surveyed and assessed the property in December 2021 and found radiological material Uranium -238, known as slag, under the playground and parking lot at the site at six to twenty-four inches below the surface, covering approximately 10,000 square feet. Uranium -238 was most likely used as fill material from nearby industrial facilities.

Based on the survey and assessment results, EPA will be removing this material under its Superfund program. EPA surveyed the interior of the two-story building but did not find radiological abnormalities. EPA also tested and analyzed the indoor air for radon and found that radon levels to be below the state standards.

Before early October 2021, 10 children between the ages of 2-5 years of age used the facility on weekdays from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.; however, the facility has been unoccupied and not used since October 2021. The staff and clients at the facility have been relocated to another facility until a final cleanup is completed.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

EPA, CDI, and the Donovan Head Start site owner and manager on behalf of HHS, signed a legal agreement called an Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent (AOC) on February 28, 2023. Under the AOC and with EPA oversight, CDI will remove and dispose of radiological waste material from the playground and parking lot areas. EPA reviewed and vetted the CDI project contractor. Once the work plan is reviewed and approved, a timeline will be prepared to outline a schedule for proposed cleanup activities. 

CDI will be required to excavate and dispose of the contaminated soil from the parking lot and playground. CDI will also install clean fill material, pave the parking lot area, install playground equipment and ground cover, and install a 20-foot-long sidewalk area as part of the restoration work. The cleanup activities are expected to take between 4-8 weeks once the work plan is approved.