Word: boyertown
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Margaret Harner, BOYERTOWN...
When Stanley Watras, a Bechtel Group engineer assigned to the Limerick nuclear-power plant in Boyertown, Pa., set off radiation monitors last winter, that in itself was unusual. Nuclear-plant workers rarely come into contact with radioactive substances during their daily routine. What disturbed Watras even more was that he tripped the detectors not while he was leaving the nuclear complex but when he was entering it. As a result, he requested that Limerick's owner, Philadelphia Electric Co. (PECO), check radiation levels at his house in Colebrookdale, Pa., a few miles from the plant...
Stunned by the discovery, the bureau of radiation safety at the Pennsylvania environmental resources department dispatched half of its 25-person staff to the Boyertown area, where during the past five months they have tested 1,800 local dwellings for radon. Their finding: 40% of the homes have unacceptably high levels of the gas. Says Kay Jones, 40, who lives with her husband Richard and their children in a contaminated house across the street from the Watras': "Where am I going to go? Our life savings are in our home...
...problem, however, extends far beyond Boyertown. Says Bruce Dallas, spokesman for the environmental resources department: "We're just at the tip of the iceberg in terms of impact. Radon could be anywhere." The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that a million American homes may be contaminated, and in May a federal interagency task force reported that indoor radon exposure may cause as many as 30,000 deaths from lung cancer in the U.S. every year...
...Brad can play tough under the basket as well as go out and hit the three point shot,” says Frederick Endy, the athletic director for Unger’s alma mater, Boyertown Area High School. “He can also handle the ball very well...