Cleanup work underway at former American Nuclear Corp. site in Claxton
Work to clean up the former American Nuclear Corp. site in the Claxton community has begun and is going well, according to Carter Owens, on-scene coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 in the federal agency’s Superfund and Emergency Management Division.
“We have completed full site radiological and geophysical surveys,” Owens told members of the Anderson County Commission, the county’s Intergovernmental Committee, Mayor Terry Frank, and members of the public, on Monday morning, April 15.
Demolition of facilities, and excavation of all the soil on the site is expected to begin this week, with movement to begin in about one month, Owens said.
“I am appreciative of EPA's on-scene coordinator Carter Owens for appearing before the Intergovernmental Committee, members of county commission, and the public to give us a status update, as well as answer questions about the progress at the American Nuclear site,” said Aaron Wells, chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee. “We will continue to share information with the public about the progress on our own county website, and look forward to continuing conversations with the EPA on this important project.”
In an effort to keep citizens informed about this project, Anderson County is posting EPA-provided information to the county website – www.andersoncountytn.gov – under “American Nuclear Site Cleanup” at the bottom of the home page. If citizens have more specific questions, they should contact the EPA’s Community Involvement Coordinator Marjorie Thomas, at (919) 407-9721 or by e-mail at thomas.marjorie@epa.gov.
Owens said “perimeter air monitoring” will be conducted daily at the former ANC site, and water misting – “not enough to create run-off,” he said – will be done to help contain any dust created by the site demolition and excavation.
The EPA has indicated that the cleanup work could be completed by sometime in October.
The American Nuclear Corp. was a former radioactive source fabricator. The site at Old Emory Road and Blockhouse Valley Road occupies approximately 6.25 acres and includes a 12,000-square-foot former facility building and a second attached building. The state of Tennessee took control of the property in the early 1970s. The EPA has budgeted an estimated $13 million for this cleanup project.
Leean R. Tupper is the assistant to Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Cleanup work underway at former American Nuclear Corp. site in Claxton
