BY ROSE ADAMS
Authorities closed the southern
half of Dead Horse Bay after
fi nding radioactive material
at the park and former landfi ll,
which has become a destination
for scavengers.
“The National Parks Service
is working to investigate
Dead Horse Bay to identify the
contamination and extent of the
contamination,” said spokeswoman
Daphne Yun in a statement.
“For visitor safety, NPS
will close this portion of Dead
Horse Bay to the public.”
Dead Horse Bay, once a
dumping ground for horse carcasses
processed by nearby
rendering plants, has become
a popular spot for treasure
hunters looking to scavenge
bottles, horse bones, or the occasional
porcelain fi gurine.
The grounds, located in southern
Brooklyn just west of Floyd
Bennett Field, served as a city
landfi ll until 1930, and even
became a trash-digging haven
for early 20th century jewelers
searching for discarded gems.
The park, however, also
houses radioactive matter, a
2019 preliminary survey found.
Offi cials detected excessive
gamma radiation in 31 locations
COURIER L 10 IFE, AUGUST 14-20, 2020
across the 178-acre dump
and removed two deck markers
— small disks used on Navy
ships to provide light at night.
The markers, which contained
Radium 226, had broken and
leaked, contaminating the surrounding
soil and potentially
the southern beach area, authorities
said.
In response to the survey’s
recent fi ndings, parks stewards
shut down 84 acres on the southern
end of the bay.
“Visitors to Dead Horse Bay
use the Park for passive recreation,
like walking on trails,
but also conduct unauthorized
digging in the soil or beach for
old bottles and other items,” the
statement said.
The preliminary studies
are part of a longterm effort
to clean up the bay using the
same procedure Superfund
sites receive, known as the
Comprehensive Environmental,
Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act (CERCLA)
process. The cleanup — and
the park’s closure — may last
years, Yun said.
Authorities say that the risk
of radiation exposure depends
on how much time and how
close park visitors came to the
contaminated soil.
“The greatest potential risk
from radiological contamination
at the Site is from coming
into direct contact with a manmade
radiological article,” the
National Parks Service said in
a release. “A visitor potentially
could be exposed to radiological
contamination or man-made radiological
articles either from
unauthorized digging and surfacing
a deck marker or other
man-made radiological article
(with the aid of a metal detector)
The bay is fi lled with discarded bottles, shards of china, and other trash
from when it served as a landfi ll in the 20th century. National Parks Service
and/or from an article that
may become exposed along the
shoreline.”
Long periods exposure to
high levels of radiation can
cause cataracts, anemia, and
cancer over the course of many
years, according to the Environmental
Protection Agency.
A National Parks spokesperson
did not elaborate on the site’s
level of radiation.
Parks authorities will conduct
the cleanup effort with the
input of the community, stewards
said in a statement.
“Information repositories
will be established at locations
open to members of the general
public where a collection of documents
(including the Administrative
Record fi le) relevant to
the Site will be made available
for public viewing and copying,”
the statement said. “NPS
will also issue a Community Involvement
Plan that will guide
public involvement.”
TOXIC DEVELOPMENT
Federal authorities shutter Dead Horse Bay
due to radioactive contamination
Initial visit with coupon only. Must mention at time of appointment. Excludes house calls. Expires 4/30/19
8/31/2020
Walk-Ins Welcome Brooklyn: Mon. 9am-2pm, Wed. 9am-12pm & 4pm-7pm, Fri. 1pm-6pm
2075 Flatbush Avenue
Avenue P / Near Library