The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it has finished cleanup of a nearly six-acre radioactive superfund site on the outskirts of Clinton after it sat abandoned for almost 50 years. Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank called the site an “environmental cold case,” and applauded the work of the EPA and state regulators.
“Together, all of you have helped a dream become a reality,” Frank said. “You've helped answer many prayers, and you've put our hearts and minds at ease in this community. We look forward to taking what you have given us in terms of a cleaner, healthier environment and moving forward with plans to benefit the people of our county.”
The site was home to American Nuclear Corporation, a company that processed radioactive isotopes like cobalt and cesium for use in the medical industry. It opened its Clinton facility on Blockhouse Valley Road in 1962. By the end of the decade, the site had leaked dangerous levels of radioactive materials into the ground and water nearby, according to state records.
“Immediately when they started operating, TVA started noticing cesium 137 in the Clinch River,” said Carter Owens, the EPA’s on-scene coordinator for the site. “And they traced the isotope back up here … they just didn't handle things properly.”
Workers weren’t kept safe, and radioactive materials weren’t being stored correctly. For years, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) warned site managers that it needed to resolve the issues, or face penalties. In 1971, American Nuclear Corporation was shut down by the state and told to clean up its mess.
The company worked with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to pour concrete into some of the most hyperactive rooms in the structure. Then, in 1975, American Nuclear Corporation dissolved. It was left up to the state to clean up the mess.
“TDEC seized the property in the interest of public health,” Owens said. “They closed it up, made it safe-ish and monitored it since then.”
Fences went up around the perimeter of the site with signs warning people to stay away. Besides necessary maintenance in the 1990s to stabilize the structure, it went largely forgotten for decades. But a few locals held out hope.
In early 2022, at the direction of the Anderson County Commission, the county’s Law Director Jay Yeager sent a letter to the EPA requesting help with cleanup of the site.
“We think you would be amazed and concerned with the lack of attention this Superfund site has been given and would share our concerns that a plan of action needs to be created with input from all stakeholders,” the letter concluded.
The federal regulator heard these local concerns, and by 2023 the agency had partnered with TDEC to commit to clean the site at an estimated price of nearly $15 million.
Now, after 18 months, American Nuclear Corporation’s abandoned mess has been cleaned up. Where once stood a collapsed concrete building there’s now a rolling green field and some gravel.
“And EPA, of course, could not have done this alone,” said EPA Region 4 Chief of Staff Leland Frost. “The success and speed of the cleanup are due to the collaborative efforts of all those involved.”
As part of the process, over 20 million pounds of waste, soil and debris had to be securely handled, stored and shipped to a site in west Texas. And it was dangerous. Owens says that some of the material was emitting 20 roentgen per hour.
"For reference, the OSHA allowable limit for a rad worker is 5r per year," he said. "So you would reach your yearly dose limit in 15 minutes around that source material."
Altogether, the cleanup cost $10.7 million and was at least five times more active than superfund sites at Oak Ridge, according to the EPA. The regulator contracted disposal of the waste to Solutient Technologies. Brad Squibb, the company’s owner, says the site was one of the most challenging he’s ever worked on, rivaled only by the U.S. Radium Corporation site in Pennsylvania.
“I've been working in this arena for 45 years, and this is probably the top two most challenging jobs that I've ever been involved in,” Squibb said. “And from a radiation standpoint, it's the highest levels we've ever worked with.”
The future of the site remains unclear. Soil sampling will need to be done to verify how safe the land is for future use, which Squibb says could take months.
Anderson County officials say they want the land to be used for private development, and the state appeared open to this. TDEC Commissioner David Salyers says the department wants to put the land back in the hands of the community.
“That's absolutely what we want to see,” Salyers said. “You know, we like to see the properties put back into commercial, industrial or even a greenfield site. It could be a park, could be something like that. So, we're really excited about making that happen.”
