Eliminated NY Niagara Falls Titanium Alloys Manufacturing Multiple contracts for producing and processing zirconium, uranium compounds and thorium scrap, 1940s to 1950s. Large volumes of toxic and, in some cases, explosive waste, dumped at government's nearby Lake Ontario Ordnance Works. High levels of radioactive dust. Soil contamination found, late 1970s, but link to weapons work unclear. Heavily contaminated site, also used for commercial chemical work, included in U.S. Superfund cleanup program.
Records note workers' exposure to anhydrous chlorine and boron trichloride vapors.
Plant was dismantled in 1945 without any inspection for residual hazards. Stored thousands of drums of ore containing high levels of uranium and radium, 1940-42. Buildings later destroyed for a parking lot. Some radioactive contamination found in 1976. Records suggest limited potential for airborne radioactivity.