AF tests facilities for radium on 6 bases

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Carl Norman
  • Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs
Initial test results at facilities on six Air Force bases indicate employees are not at immediate risk from the residual radioactive material left over from old luminous paints. The paints were used at the bases more than 60 years ago.

The initial tests results are from buildings here; the former Griffiss Air Force Base, N.Y.; Hill AFB, Utah; Robins AFB, Ga.; Tinker AFB, Okla; and Fairchild AFB, Wash. More detailed tests will be conducted in the coming weeks by teams from the Air Force Institute for Operational Health at Brooks City-Base, Texas.

The six-base examination came when Air Force experts discovered levels of radium above naturally occurring levels in facilities at three now-closed bases: Kelly AFB, Texas; McClellan AFB, Calif.; and Norton AFB, Calif. Officials said radium levels in buildings at these former bases are not considered to be harmful. These buildings also housed facilities where luminescent paint was once used.

After discovering the residual radium at the three closed installations, Air Force officials reviewed historical documents to determine if any other Air Force facilities could be potentially contaminated with radium. The buildings at the six installations were identified because they are structurally similar to former depot buildings that were known to house radium luminescent paint operations.

Officials said residual radium might still remain in a former painting facility's sewer lines, along the bottoms of wooden walls and in hidden areas where typical building workers are not likely to frequent.

Workers at the six bases used radium paint to repair items coated with the radioactive substance during the World War II era, officials said. Experts are also checking the buildings for radon, a byproduct of radium decay.

Radium is found naturally in the environment and was commonly used in luminous paints, officials said. The paint was applied to the faces of clocks, watches and gauges so airmen could see them in the dark.

Most of the buildings have undergone multiple renovations since the paint was last used, and areas where it was used have been cleaned, covered or replaced. Therefore, the risk of anyone coming in contact with residual radium is small, officials said.

Officials said base bioenvironmental engineers, civil engineers and the teams from Brooks are conducting occupational health surveys at each of the six locations to determine if there is a radiation risk.

This investigation will assess occupational risks and recommend controls to help determine whether additional evaluation is needed.

Officials said they do not anticipate radium contamination to be widespread or radiation exposure levels to be much greater than natural background levels. However, they said they want to take the conservative approach and fully investigate whether an occupational radiation hazard exists at these or any other Air Force facilities. (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)