Environmental remediation as social archaeology: Excavating sites contaminated by early nuclear weapons activities in New York City, both literally and hermeneutically
| Published date | 01 May 2023 |
| Author | Matthew Breay Bolton,Katherine Ketterer |
| Date | 01 May 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.13197 |
318
|
Global Policy. 2023;14 :318–3 30.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/gpol
1 | RADIOACTIVE TRACES OF THE
MANHATTAN PROJECT IN NEW
YORK CITY
At 1.40 am on 6 March 2021, the New York City (NYC)
Sheriff's office raided an illegal rave in a Ridgewood,
Queens, warehouse. ‘Potential exposure to COVID- 19
apparently wasn't risky enough’ for the 142 unmasked
people at what local news dubbed the ‘Radioactive
Rave’ (Pozarycki,2021). The building was part of a
site contaminated by former nuclear weapon devel-
opment activities, designated as one of only three ac-
tive ‘Superfund’ sites in NYC by the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). Press coverage was
ungenerous, pathologising the choices of so- called
‘COVIDiots’ (Pozarycki,2021). However, online dis-
cussion of the story noted the relatively low levels of
radioactivity and the broader social responsibility for
risks posed by the site, since slated remediation re-
mained incomplete (e.g. @LenKusov,2021; ‘Jim Lou’
commenting on Pozarycki,2021). Few partiers proba-
bly knew they were dancing in a radioactive dump site.
Few New Yorkers are aware of the invisible, often sub-
terranean, ongoing risks posed by nuclear weapons
sites in their city.
The Manhattan Project developed the atomic
bombs tested in New Mexico and dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 200,000 people in
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Environmental remediation as social archaeology:
Excavating sites contaminated by early nuclear
weapons activities in New York City, both literally and
hermeneutically
Matthew BreayBolton1 | KatherineKetterer2
Received: 25 May 20 22
|
Rev ised: 6 February 2023
|
Ac cepted: 13 February 2023
DO I: 10 .1111/17 58- 589 9.13 197
© 2023 Durham Unive rsity and John Wiley & So ns Ltd.
1Department of Pol itical Science, Dys on
College of Ar ts and Sciences, Pace
University, New York, New York, USA
2Lycée Français de New York, Ne w York
City, New York, USA
Correspondence
Matthew Breay Bo lton, Department of
Political Sci ence, Pace University, Dyso n
College of Ar ts and Sciences 1 Pace
Plaza, New York, New York 10038, U SA.
Email: mbolton@pace.edu
Abstract
New York City, where the Manhattan Project began, has some of the world's
oldest nuclear weapons product ion sites, exposing New Yorkers to ongoingrisks
of ionising radiation. This article considers six sites of particular environmental
concern. Assessment, monitoring and clean- up of these locations have taken
place over three different periods: private remediation before 1992; federal gov-
ernment remediation in the early 1990s followed by two decades of neglect; and
a long- standing campaign to deal with risks at two remaining sites. Addressing
radioactive legacies has involved a feedback loop between literal excavation of
contaminated locations and a more hermeneutical process of meaning- making.
Journalists, activists and politicians have transformed some places into sites
of memory, cultivating connections to concerns about environmental justice,
radiation protection and nuclear disarmament. The 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition
of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) established new obligations to remediate envi-
ronments contaminated by nuclear weapons activities. While the USA refuses
to join the TPNW, in- depth, historical study of remediation at these sites can
provide useful insight for states parties establishing policy to implement TPNW
obligations. Recent passage of nuclear disarmament legislation by the NY City
Council shows the ongoing policy relevance of nuclear weapons issues in local
policymaking.
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