Tonight:
-5°c
Radioactive waste buried under the Olympic Park could jeopardise plans to develop the site after the Games, it is claimed.
Traces of thorium and radium have been buried in a disposal cell under the site of the main stadium. The Olympic Delivery Authority insists the deposits pose no risk during the Games.
But experts say that a reassessment of the site after 2012 may be necessary before any development plans - housing, for instance - are put in place.
Independent nuclear analyst John Large said: "There is some doubt about the applicability and validity of the radiological risk analysis undertaken for the future legacy use."
The Lower Lea Valley site was industrial land which was used for landfill and where illegal dumping of waste was common in the Fifties and Sixties.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company, which will sell the park's assets after the Games, said: "Our assurance from the ODA is that the land has been remediated [cleaned up] to the highest possible standard."
ODA director of utilities Simon Wright said the site was "completely safe".
Reader views (2)
IS THAT WHY THE AUTHORITIES ARE SO PARANOID IN LETTING ANYONE WITH A CAMERA NEAR THE OLYMPIC SITE? In case they photograph someone with a Geiger counter. Every week the photographic press carries a report about Amateurs being stopped by security from photographing a pile of mud, etc.
- ALAN., ENGLAND., 21/06/2010 20:48
Report abuse
Can we get a reduction on our ticket,if we are willing to sit in a radiated area,or are'nt we going to be told,as usual !!!
I'm the one in the lead lined suit.
- Davey_buoy, Chertsey, 21/06/2010 15:31
Report abuse
