Radiation levels detected at an old Biggs Airfield bunker were nearly seven times higher than established acceptable safe levels, according to a U.S. military report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The U.S. Air Force Safety Center prepared the July 3 report for Fort Bliss titled, "Trip Report, Inspection of Former Air Force Weapons Storage Area (WSA), Biggs Army Airfield."
During a site visit in June, the Air Force inspectors took alpha and beta particle readings in a storage igloo or bunker (Building 11507) with two devices, a Ludlum Model 2360 meter and a Ludlum Model 43-89 probe. They also conducted complex calculations, and applied estimates that the inspectors described as "conservative."
Inspectors said they found high levels of uranium activity concentration levels at location "Painted 3."
"This level is in excess of the acceptable maximum level in (Atomic Energy Commission) Regulatory Guide 1.86 for uranium isotopes," the report said.
The contaminated bunker is in the Snake Pit area at Biggs Airfield, roughly north of Fred Wilson and east of Railroad Drive in Northeast El Paso.
"The radioactivity of the painted site on the floor of Building 11507 was estimated in the report to be contaminated at a level almost seven times greater than is considered acceptable," said John Walton, an expert at the University of Texas at El Paso who reviewed the figures for the El Paso Times. "Some of the initial contamination has been removed over time as the paint wore off the floor."
Overall, "this is not huge, but the danger from radiation depends on how long you've been exposed to it," Walton said.
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