Little publicized from 2006.
cleveland.indymedia.org/news/2006/10/22798.php
ISRAELI EMBASSY IN NYC A RADIATION HOT SPOT
by x Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006 at 1:05 PM
Feds surveyed NYC for radiation, found tainted park, Embassy
WASHINGTON -- Anti-terrorism officials conducted a helicopter survey of
New York City's radiation sources in preparation for a so-called "dirty
bomb" attack - and discovered a Staten Island park with dangerously high
levels of radium, a new report found.
Federal authorities found 80 unexpected "hot spots" around New York
City, according to the Government Accountability Office, the
investigative arm of Congress.
The GAO report released Thursday details a previously undisclosed aerial
anti-terrorism program in New York City, one which may be extended to
other cities worried about the possible release of radioactive material
by terrorists.
The report does not identify which city park had the contaminated soil,
but NYPD officials said it was in Gateway National Park in Staten
Island. The site was closed, and New York has requested federal money to
do a citywide aerial survey every year to update the information.
By creating a map of the city's radiation sources, city officials hope
to be able to respond more quickly in the event of a dirty bomb attack,
know exactly which streets are contaminated and get civilians away.
New York is the first and only U.S. city to conduct a complete aerial
radiological survey, having paid the U.S. Department of Energy $800,000
for the 2005 study.
The helicopters picked up sources of low-level radiation from expected
places, like granite statues and medical isotopes at hospitals, but it
also found dozens of other sources of unexpected radioactivity, the GAO
report found.