An aerial radiological survey of Ottawa, Illinois and surrounding area, Ottawa Illinois: Date of survey, May 1986

An aerial radiological survey was conducted over the town of Ottawa, Illinois, located 128 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Chicago, Illinois, during the period 12 May through 20 May 1986. The object of the survey was to locate any possible radium anomalies in the Ottawa area. The Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety (IDNS) suspected that radium residues from the former Luminous Processes Plant may have been distributed around the town. The IDNS was decontaminating the Luminous Processes Plant site during the aerial survey. Approximately 23 square kilometers (9 square miles) surrounding the town of Ottawa were surveyed. A contour map derived from the aerial data indicated the presence of anomalous radium at 11 locations in and around Ottawa. A copy of the map was given to the IDNS in Ottawa at the end of the survey period. Subsequent to the aerial survey, EG and G Energy Measurements, Inc. (EG and G/EM) obtained a high-altitude aerial photograph of Ottawa on 17 June 1986. The aerial photograph was used as the underlying map for the radiological survey data. 1 ref., 6 figs., 1 tab