County Hazmat Looks Into Montour Trail Radiation

The Washington County Hazmat team looked into a report of radiation on a portion of the Montour Trail in Cecil Township. During the quarterly meeting of the Washington County Local Emergency Planning Committee, Joseph Pordash, Hazmat Coordinator and Radiological Officer for Washington County delivered his findings when the hazmat crew visited the area. He said that his crew visited the area of the trail that is bordered by 5D Field Services. They are a company that stores and disposes of pipes used in the gas and oil industry. The county first became aware of the situation when local news reports spoke of an article published by Rolling Stone Magazine that said their measurements found radiation levels of 3500 picocuries per liter of air on the Westland branch of the trail. Normal radiation levels are 5 picocuries per liter of air. Pordash said that county hazmat crews measured radiation levels and found them to be in normal range along the trail. They walked the trail in two directions along the border of the company’s property and took contamination and exposure samples every 15 feet and found no radiation threat. No tests were performed on the company’s property. Pordash said there is no immediate threat of contamination. Any further investigations would be in concert with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The PA DEP did test for radiation and found no radiation threat and declined to perform soil sample tests.