radiological · Niagara County
Donovan Head Start Slag Removal
Niagara Falls
Radioactive industrial slag fill was removed from playground and parking areas in 2023; EPA reports that the building itself was not contaminated.
The documented story
What happened here?
Two areas behind the Donovan Head Start facility at 1631 Main Street contained radioactive industrial slag used as fill decades ago. The documented material was in the playground and parking area; EPA reports that the two-story building itself was not radiologically contaminated.
The property owner completed the removal in 2023 with EPA oversight. Because the site serves children, exact wording about where contamination was—and was not—found is central to an accurate public account.
A playground project revealed buried industrial fill
Ten young children were relocated while radiological slag was removed
10,000 sq ftapproximate outdoor area where EPA identified buried slag
September-December 2021
Construction debris triggered a federal radiological survey
Material encountered during playground improvements was referred to state and federal agencies. EPA found uranium-238-bearing slag roughly six to twenty-four inches beneath portions of the playground and parking lot across an estimated 10,000 square feet.
October 2021 onward
Children and staff used another facility during the response
Before the relocation, EPA says ten children ages two through five used the facility on weekdays. The program stopped using the property and moved clients and staff while the outdoor areas were evaluated and the cleanup agreement was prepared.
2023
Removal rebuilt the outdoor spaces rather than the building
With EPA oversight, contaminated soil and slag were excavated for off-site disposal and the parking and playground areas were restored. EPA's surveys found no radiological abnormality inside the two-story building, and indoor radon results were below state standards.
News record
Major news events
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Playground construction reveals buried radioactive industrial slag
Material encountered during improvements led to a federal survey that identified uranium-bearing slag beneath portions of the outdoor playground and parking area—not inside the Head Start building.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ↗Outdoor slag removal is completed under EPA oversight
Children and staff had been moved during the response; excavation, verification, clean backfill, and restoration completed the property-specific removal.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ↗Chemical guide
Chemicals named in this record
These links explain potential hazards and exposure pathways. A chemical named in a record does not establish that anyone was exposed or harmed.
Chronology
Timeline
- Early 1960s
Industrial slag is believed to have been used as fill at several Niagara County properties.
- 1978
The same regional federal aerial survey that found several Niagara-area anomalies recorded elevated readings near the future Head Start property.
- 2023
Radiological material was removed from the rear playground and parking lot under EPA oversight.
- Late summer 2023
The parking lot, walkway, and playground were restored after removal and verification.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- Radioactive slag fill was confirmed in two exterior areas used as a playground and parking lot.
- EPA states that the Head Start building did not contain radiological contamination.
- The public concern reflects the sensitive land use, but the evidence must remain tied to the two documented exterior removal areas.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- The owner excavated and disposed of radiological fill with EPA oversight.
- Removal boundaries and verification work guided restoration with clean material.
- The playground, walkway, and parking surfaces were rebuilt after the contaminated material was removed.
Then and now
The site today
EPA lists the Donovan removal as complete. The restored facility grounds should be described together with the agency's explicit finding that the building itself was not contaminated.
Atlas connections
Connected places
These collections explain documented material, facility, waterway, ownership, or cleanup relationships. Inclusion does not imply that every place shares one contaminant source or plume.
Niagara regional radiological record
Federal storage, industrial processing, vicinity-property cleanup, and later residential or public-property investigations form a connected regional research record.
The storage site is the principal federal property in a wider network of material handling, containment, and vicinity-property work.
Vicinity propertiesNiagara Falls Storage Site Vicinity PropertiesThese properties are managed separately where eligible material lies beyond the principal storage-site boundary.
Wartime industrial facilityElectro Metallurgical CompanyElectro Metallurgical represents a separate Manhattan Project-era industrial operation within the Niagara record.
Investigated propertyNiagara Falls Boulevard Radiation SiteThis location was identified through later radiological investigation rather than treated as part of the NFSS parcel itself.
Public-property responseDonovan Head Start Slag RemovalThe Head Start response documents investigation and removal at a public-use property.
Investigated propertyUpper Mountain Road Radiation SiteUpper Mountain Road is one of several separately bounded locations in the regional assessment record.
Vicinity investigationHoly Trinity Cemetery VicinityThe cemetery vicinity record is linked by regional radiological assessment, not by a claim that every property shares one source.
Regional assessmentNiagara–Erie Residential Radiological AssessmentThe assessment provides the umbrella research context for evaluating multiple residential and public locations.
Radiological-map connection
Place this site in the wider material history
The separate radiological investigation map distinguishes producers, processors, storage, the 100 historical survey records, federal remediation, and current assessment coverage.
Linked research mapOpen the radiological investigation →