Thorium residuals in West Chicago, Illinois

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Abstract
Lindsay and Company began operation of its west Chicago, Illinois, plant in 1931, processing thorium ores for thorium and rare earths. From that time until normal operations ceased in 1973, thorium residuals from the operation found their way offsite to Reed-Keppler City Park, the West Chicago Sewage Treatment Plant, and numerous other locations about the city and its environs. The present study located and identified such thorium residuals in the West Chicago area, a total of 75 epicenters having been found in addition to deposits at Reed-Keppler Park, the sewage-treatment plant, and down Kress Creek and the DuPage River. Deposits proved to be almost exclusively the dense, gray, insoluble particles of thorium-ore tailings from the process, which have been historically stored in two large piles in the site waste area. Epicenter locations and associated radiological parameters are given for the 75 locations, along with quantitative descriptions of the larger collections of material at the park, at the sewage-treatment plant, and on the banks of Kress Creek and the DuPage River. Not one of the areas of thorium residuals located outside security fences was found to violate the requirements of 10 CFR 20.

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