For decades, residents of Luckey have waited for the federal government to pick up the poisonous mess it
left behind on the edge of their community.
It now looks like the federal Superfund site will actually get cleaned up. This summer a bid will be
awarded for the cleanup, which is expected to cost more than $50 million. And next summer, if all goes
as planned, the work will begin to rid the site of contaminants left behind by the Atomic Energy
Commission.
The 40-acre site, at the corner of Luckey and Gilbert roads, was formerly operated as Motorwheel and
Uretech. But it was before that, starting in 1942, when the problems began. The U.S. Atomic Energy
Commission used the site to process beryllium and sent an estimated 1,000 tons of radioactively
contaminated metal to the site for magnesium processing.
Contaminants were disposed of on-site, in dumping areas and lagoons.
It was determined that beryllium, lead and radiological contamination from uranium, radium and thorium at
the site could pose risks.
Many neighbors to the site on the north edge of Luckey continue to worry that the contaminants are
seeping into their water or blowing into their air.
The townspeople have heard these promises of a federal cleanup before.
Four years ago, they were assured by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is charged with cleaning up
the facility, that the Luckey site was moving up in the ranking of federal projects to be tackled.
"Luckey’s in the batter’s box," Bill Frederick, of the Army Corps of Engineers, told them
during a public meeting in 2011.
But it appears that Luckey may soon be moving to first base, according to word sent to local officials.

Brad Espen, director of environmental services at the Wood County Health District, feared this day would
never come. Thanks to Espen’s persistence, the federal government has agreed to not only clean up the
contaminants it left behind, but also any other hazards left behind at the site since the Atomic Energy
Commission abandoned the acreage decades ago.
That means the dilapidated buildings on the site will be demolished and removed if contaminated soil is
found under them. Residents had feared the buildings would be left behind as potentially hazardous
reminders of the site’s history.
In 1992, the site was added to the list of Superfund cleanup sites. Since then, thousands of soil samples
have been tested. Well and air monitoring sites have been installed.
"We made Swiss cheese of the place once. We made Swiss cheese of it again," Frederick told
residents in 2011 of all the testing done.
Frederick assured that contaminated soil under the buildings will mean the structures have to be removed
to get to the soil.
"If we’re chasing dirty dirt under the building, we’re going to chase it," he said. "We’re
not going to let the buildings stand in our way to get to the soil."
Espen said he will be working with the Army Corps of Engineers to come up with a health and safety plan
for townspeople during the cleanup. The corps has assured residents that a warning system will be put in
place and plans will be made to suppress contaminated dust disturbed in the process.
Though he’s pleased with the long-awaited progress, Espen hopes the project doesn’t stall out like some
other federal cleanup jobs that ran into unexpected problems. It is unknown how long the work will take,
but he is hopeful the cleanup makes it to home plate.
After all, neighbors of the site have waited decades for the federal government to clean up its mess.
It’s a lesson that many of us learn at a young age – take responsibility and pick up your own mess. It’s
time for government to own up to the problem and make it go away.