From 1948-the mid 1950s the Simonds Saw and Steel was under contract with the AEC to heat and mill uranium and thorium. Between 25 million to 30 million pounds of uranium and 30,000 to 40,000 pounds of thorium was processed at this site. Most of it was rolled into fuel rods and sent to Hanford.

During a medical survey of the site by the AEC in October 1948, it was discovered that there was hazardous concentrations of airborne uranium dust. Workers at the plant were breathing dust levels up to 190 times the maximum allowable concentration. In 1949 an AEC medical expert wrote, "This operation results in profuse atmospheric contamination. To satisfy Hanford's urgent need for rolled metal, it was necessary to begin before suitable controls could be installed." In a 1949 report circulated to top AEC staff, there was mention that contaminated water used on uranium and thorium rods, was dumped directly into the local sewer system. A study to examine the level of radioactivity in the water was recommended but never done.

By 1954, the AEC had determined that the plant at Simonds had levels of thorium dust that were 40 times the federal standard. The AEC recommended to Simond's management that safety measures should be upgraded. These were deemed too costly and never carried out. Based on old AEC reports, workers in the most dangerous jobs received doses of radiation over 130 rem. This is 10 times the federal safety standards for the time and would have increased a worker's chances of getting cancer by 20%.

AEC officials inspected the plant in 1950 and found radioactive dust on many rafters and ledges. They also determined that there was a substantial increase in the amount uranium dust was exiting the plant through ventilation exhaust stacks. A memo was sent to AEC's highest official that stated, "At each of our producing plants and laboratories, the disposal of toxic and radioactive wastes presents an actual or potential serious problem (and) their discharge to the atmosphere (and) soil, to sewers or to waterways involves hazards of various degrees."

By the time the contract between the AEC and Simonds' was complete a new government owned uranium processing plant had opened in Cincinnati and rolling and milling work was moved there. The AEC hired a private company to decontaminate Simonds. Little more was done than wiping dust off of exposed surfaces and the site was cleared for unrestricted use.

A federal survey conducted in 1977 found radioactivity in the plant and nearby soil far above modern-day safety limits. Despite this, the original contract that Simonds' had with the AEC meant the site was ineligible for government cleanup.

References

http://www.hanford.gov/files.cfm/AppendixF.pdf

http://www.usatoday.com/news/poison/002.htm