>The plant processed Monazite sand, which, when treated with Sulfuric Acid, separates into the rare-earth Sodium Sulfate,<p>Sodium sulfate is not a rare-earth. This looks to me like a case of copying from Wikipedia without understanding. From:
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monazite#Acid_cracking" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monazite#Acid_cracking</a><p>"leaving a solution of lanthanide sulfates from which the lanthanides could be easily precipitated as a double sodium sulfate"<p>This is an additional step that happens after the steps shown in the diagram, to separate the different lanthanides. Sodium sulfate is added to the mixed lanthanide sulfates, some of which form lanthanide-sodium double sulfates (see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_salt" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_salt</a>) which precipitate out while other lanthanides remain in solution. See
<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HPyNk-cU-nQC&pg=PA402&lpg=PA402&dq=lanthanides+double+salts+sodium+sulphate" rel="nofollow">https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HPyNk-cU-nQC&pg=PA402&lp...</a>
The article is wrong about safe doses by a factor of 50-100.<p>"a worker at Los Primos is exposed to about 300 millirem per year (100 per year is deemed the highest "safe" dose)"<p>should be "5000-10000 per year is deemed the highest safe dose".
The actual EPA documentation[1] about this site shows that the comparative exposure is not nearly as significant as the article indicates. A handy comparative radiation dose table that they provide shows that you'd receive an additional 240 mR/year simply by moving from NYC to Denver, Colorado.[2] By comparison, the estimated annual dose received by a worker at the former Wolff-Alport site is 120 mR/year.<p>[1] <a href="http://www3.epa.gov/region02/waste/wolff/docs.html#Docs" rel="nofollow">http://www3.epa.gov/region02/waste/wolff/docs.html#Docs</a>
[2]
<a href="http://www3.epa.gov/region02/waste/wolff/pdf/NYC_DOH_May_2007_wolff_alport_exposure_sheet.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www3.epa.gov/region02/waste/wolff/pdf/NYC_DOH_May_200...</a>
Is not related but is a curiosity, 'Los primos' (the cousins) is often translated colloquially as 'The fools' in spanish. When you fall in a very obvious scam you are a 'primo' or did 'el primo'.<p>But the best part is what is not said in the article. It seems that there is a licensed grocery selling sandwiches next to this garage... if your dream is to develop superpowers after sipping a coffe this would the place.
There's a bit more detail in this Pulitzer Prize winning (short) article, also addressing the 100 mrem figure: <a href="http://www.pulitzer.org/files/2014/national-reporting/wsjwastelands/02wsjwastelands2014.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.pulitzer.org/files/2014/national-reporting/wsjwas...</a>
A lot in Staten Island was once used to store uranium ore for the Manhattan Project. A recent survey found very high levels of radiological contamination.<p><a href="https://fopnews.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/staten-islands-tainted-edge-geologic-city-report-3/" rel="nofollow">https://fopnews.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/staten-islands-tain...</a>
There's an interactive piece from a couple of years ago for more background/history of the Wolff-Alport site <a href="http://projects.newyorker.com/story/radioactive-nyc/" rel="nofollow">http://projects.newyorker.com/story/radioactive-nyc/</a>
One of Chicago's most upscale downtown neighborhoods is built on a thorium dump from the gaslight era. This is more than a little academic as Streeterville is currently being re-developed by Northwestern Hospital and the city has to be careful not to put more thorium in the air. There are something like four or five new buildings being built right now.<p><a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-04-17/news/ct-thorium-radioactive-cleanup--20140417_1_chicago-river-west-chicago-radioactive-waste" rel="nofollow">http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-04-17/news/ct-thoriu...</a><p>The fix? When radiation is detected, the soil is put in bags and shipped to a facility that can dispose of it. The land in the article is going to be park.<p><a href="http://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2012/08/22/work-on-chicagos-newest-lakefront-attraction-could-start-soon/" rel="nofollow">http://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2012/08/22/work-on-chicag...</a>
Obligatory XKCD chart for understanding the radiation amounts in the article<p><a href="https://xkcd.com/radiation/" rel="nofollow">https://xkcd.com/radiation/</a><p>100 mrem == 1mSv<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert#Rem_equivalence" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert#Rem_equivalence</a><p>Thinking about the article... for those who understand the risks of increased background radiation, I bet for these businesses rent is cheap!