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Title: Results of the radiological survey at 146 W. Central Avenue, Maywood, New Jersey (MJ034)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5444532· OSTI ID:5444532

Maywood Chemical Works (MCW) of Maywood, New Jersey, generated process wastes and residues associated with the production and reining of thorium and thorium compounds from monazite ores from 1916 to 1956. MCW supplied rare earth metals and thorium compounds to the Atomic Energy Commission and various other government agencies from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s. Area residents used the sandlike waste from this thorium extraction process mixed with tea and cocoa leaves as mulch in their yards. Some of these contaminated wastes were also eroded from the site into Lodi Brook. At the request of the US Department of Energy (DOE), a group from OaK Ridge National Laboratory conducts investigative radiological surveys of properties in the vicinity of MCW to determine whether a property is contaminated with radioactive residues, principally {sup 232}Th, derived from the MCW site. These surveys typically include direct measurement of gamma radiation levels and soil sampling for radionuclide analyses. The survey of this site, a private property at 146 West Central Avenue, Maywood, New Jersey (MJ034), was conducted during 1987 and 1988. While some measurements at this property were greater than background levels typically encountered in the New jersey area, no radiation levels nor radionuclide concentrations exceeded the guidelines established by the DOE for the Maywood, New Jersey, area remedial action plan. However, because of the proximity of the railroad property, which will be remediated, and the DOE's ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) policy, concurrent removal of the slightly elevated soil layers at 146 W. Central Avenue may be justified. 6 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE/NE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
5444532
Report Number(s):
ORNL/RASA-88/37; ON: DE90003519; TRN: 90-000800
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English