4    USE OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES DURING
THE CLEANUP OF THE DENVER RADIUM
SUPERFUND SITE
Marie Bushway Zanowick, Project Manager
J. Brink, Project Manager
H. Fliniau, Project Manager
T. Rehder, Project Manager
P. Nyberg, Radiation Specialist
J. Goldfarb, Attorney
S. Pennock, Community Relations Specialist
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region VIII
Superfund Remedial Branch
Denver, Colorado 80202
INTRODUCTION
The Denver Radium Site consists of 31 properties contaminated by low level radioactive waste that
could endanger public health, welfare, and/or the environment. The contamination is believed to
have come from residues of the radium processing in Denver from the beginning of World War I to
the early 1920's.
The Denver Radium Site was placed on the National Priorities List in September, 1983. It was
divided into 11 Operable Units (OU) which contain both open space land areas and structures. The
contaminated soils from all but one of the OU are being excavated and hauled by rail to a permanent
disposal facility.
During the course of the Denver Radium Site cleanup, the Denver Radium team has investigated
and employed a variety of new or infrequently used technologies. The application of these technologies is described in the following paper.
BACKGROUND
Radiation emitting compounds were recognized in the late 1800's. This led to the discovery in 1898
of a new radioactive element named radium. Radium was first found in pitchblende, a rare mineral
which is found in Bohemia, Saxony, Cornwall, and Colorado. Early research in the 1900's identified
the ability of radiation to destroy or inhibit the growth of selected cells, even though the danger of
radiation to living cells was not understood. This discovery led to the widespread use of radium as a
cancer treatment and created a strong demand for radium in the United States and Europe, resulting
in an increased demand for pitchblende. New sources of radium were sought, and another radium-
bering mineral, carnotite, was identified in Colorado. This material was mined and some of the
highest ores were sent to Europe for processing.
The need to establish a domestic source of processed radium intensified after the outbreak of World
War I in Europe threatened domestic supplies. This concern led to the establishment of the National
Radium Institute (NRI) in Denver in 1913. The NRI successfully demonstrated that radium could be
economically processed in the United States. After producing 8,5 grams of radium from approximately 16,000 tons of ore, the NRI closed in 1916. Other radium processing plants were also active in
Denver during this time. The collapse of the radium processing industry is attributed to the discovery
of an extremely rich deposits of radium bearing ore in Africa. This put the U .S. radium producers at a
financial disadvantage and the Denver radium industry closed almost overnight as the refineries went
bankrupt or were converted to other uses.
45th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, © 1991 Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan 48118.
Printed in U.S.A.
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