Safety Light Corporation Superfund Site

Columbia County, Pennsylvania
— Demolition Work Status Update —

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3

December 2014

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is continuing its ongoing cleanup effort at the Safety Light
Corp. (SLC) Superfund Site, located in South Centre Township, Pennsylvania. The cleanup work is divided
into three separate parts, called Operable Units (OUs). OU-1 addresses on-site buildings and debris, OU-2
addresses on-site groundwater and OU-3 addresses on-site soils, surface water and sediment. This fact sheet
provides an update on OU-1 and OU-3.

Demolition Work Near Completion (OU-1)

EPA is nearly finished with its radioactive-
contaminated materials demolition work on the
remaining on-site structures.

Demolition work includes:

•	Demolishing the remaining structures;

•	Dust suppression during the work activities;

•	Packaging the debris for transportation;

•	Staging items prior to disposal; and

•	Transporting the waste to an off-site facility.

The dismantling and off-site removal of building
debris is approximately 70 percent completed.
Remaining structures include two buildings, a water
tank and a pump shed. All demolition work is
estimated to be completed by early spring 2015.

What You May Notice

Demolition workers continue to wear standard
personal protection gear such as overalls, booties,
breathing masks, hardhats, and/or safety goggles,
during demolition activities.

Dust suppression methods involve water trucks and
spray hoses to help ensure Site-related contamination
remains on-site.

Demolition debris is being removed off-site for
proper disposal. Truck traffic is using Old Berwick
Road (Route 11) and Interstate-80.

EPA continues to work with the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection to monitor
air quality during Site activities.

Next Steps = Soil Sampling (OU-3)

Soil sampling work is estimated to begin February
2015. This work includes:

•	Evaluating radiation levels at the recently
demolished structures "footprints"

•	Collecting onsite soil samples, and

•	Collecting soil samples and hand-held screening
instrument readings at off-site residential
properties.

As part of the cleanup plan, once the onsite structures
are dismantled and the debris is removed, EPA will
test for radioactive-contamination in areas where the
structures once stood.

Soil samples will be collected within the Site
property, especially in suspected former disposal
areas, as well as at a few nearby off-site locations.

Off-site sampling will help confirm that Site-related
contamination has not migrated away from the former
plant property.

The off-site soil sampling is a precautionary, but
important, measure to help ensure that nearby
residential properties are not being adversely affected
by possible Site-related contamination.

EPA will contact residential property owners nearest
the Site to ask permission to collect soil samples from
their properties.

EPA will continue to provide updates like this fact
sheet mailing to the community as work progresses.


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December 2014 - Safety Light Corporation Superfund Site—Community Update - Page 2

Site Background

The Safety Light Corp. Site is located near
Bloomsburg, PA, between the Susquehanna River
and Old Berwick Road. It is approximately 10
acres and bordered mostly by residential
properties and the Susquehanna River. Past
activities at the Site include the manufacturing of
self-illuminated watches and instrument dials;
smoke detectors; exit signs, and other products
containing radioactive materials (such as radium-
226, strontium-90, cesium-137, and tritium).

Initially, EPA unearthed and removed drums and
other containers of historical radioactive wastes.
Recent work involved removing significant
amounts of stored wastes and debris from within
the buildings, for proper off-site disposal.

EPA demolished 18 out of 22 on-site structures.
This demolition work has been progressing in
phases beginning in 2009. This last phase of
demolition is estimated to be completed by spring
2015.

For More Information

This fact sheet and other Site-related
documents are available on-line for review at:

www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/super/sites/
PAD987295276/index.htm
or

www.epa.gov/arweb

Documents are also available locally, at:

Bloomsburg Area Public Library
225 Market St., Bloomsburg, PA 17815

If you have additional questions, please contact
one of the representatives listed below:

Trish Taylor

US EPA Community Involvement Coordinator
(215) 814—5539 ortavlor.trish(©eDa.aov

Stephanie Wenning

US EPA On-Scene Coordinator (lead for soil sampling)
(215) 814—3186 or wennina.steDhanie@eDa.aov

Ann DiDonato

US EPA On-Scene Coordinator (lead for demolition work)
(215) 814—3311 ordidonato.ann@eDa.aov

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