Editing Lansdowne, Pennsylvania (section)

==Environmental remediation==
The W.L. Cummings Radium Processing Co. conducted [[radium]] enrichment processing for medical research at their facility on Austin Avenue from 1915 to 1920.<ref name=AustinAve>{{cite web |title=AUSTIN AVENUE RADIATION SITE DELAWARE COUNTY, PA |url=https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=0304433 |website=www.cumulis.epa.gov |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref> The operations created radioactive waste of a sandy material called [[tailings]]. Building contractors used the tailings in mortar for the construction of walls and foundations in houses and businesses built nearby. The [[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) checked thousands of properties in a 12.5 mile radius of the original contaminated site through usage of a van loaded with radiation detection instrumentation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scope of Lansdowne Radiation Problem Still Unclear |url=https://apnews.com/article/ce722f70a05d34399c00bba2435e1c4d |website=www.apnews.com |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref>  The EPA discovered 40 residential properties in Lansdowne and nearby East Lansdowne, Upper Darby, Aldan, Yeadon and Darby contaminated with radium, [[thorium]], [[radon]] and [[asbestos]].  In 1995, the EPA and the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] partnered to conduct clean-up operations which included dismantling the contaminated W.L. Cummings warehouse, removal of contaminated soil and rebuilding 11 homes.  A five-year review conducted by the EPA in 2000 concluded that the clean-up has been effective.<ref name=AustinAve/>

A [[University of Pennsylvania]] professor, Dicran Kabakjian, developed the radium enrichment process for W.L. Cummings. He set up a separate business in the basement of his home at 105 Stratford Avenue. From 1924 to 1944, Kabakjian processed enriched [[radium]] ore for usage in radium-tipped needles.<ref name=AP/> The processing activities in the basement resulted in radium contamination of the house and nearby properties. The EPA placed the site on the [[National Priorities List]] in 1985 and conducted clean-up activities between 1986 and 1989.<ref name=EPA/> The house was dismantled and carted away by the EPA to a special landfill at a cost of $12 million.<ref name=AP>{{cite web |title=EPA Finds No Contamination in West Philadelphia |url=https://apnews.com/article/1721bf59831748d2f5368045bbe8a040 |website=www.apnews.com |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref>  Following clean-up activities, the site was removed from the [[Superfund]] list in 1991.<ref name=EPA>{{cite web |title=LANSDOWNE RADIATION SITE LANSDOWNE, PA |url=https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=0301596 |website=www.cumulis.epa.gov |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref>