Interactive research map documenting the factories and industrial network that supported the Manhattan Project and Cold War nuclear programs, along with waste sites and other sources of radiological contamination across Niagara Falls and the surrounding region. Read more at Greetings from Niagara.
Visible site groups
1978–1979 aerial radiological survey
Survey boundary
Ra-226 / Bi-214-associated aerial anomaly area
Th-232-associated aerial anomaly near Pine Avenue
1985 radiological survey
Ra-226 anomaly — red triangle
Th-232 anomaly — green triangle
Ra-226: Radium-226 is a radioactive decay product in the
uranium decay series. It emits radiation and can produce radon gas as it decays.
Th-232: Thorium-232 is a naturally occurring radioactive
element. Its decay products can emit gamma radiation.
1986–2023 documented onsite radiological findings
Hotspot — documented onsite radiological finding
Survey footprint or elevated corridor section
2023–2024 EPA/DEC aerial survey
Aircraft-based survey boundary
2026 NECRA Phase II
Targeted roadways
Sites and federal remediation
FUSRAP site — former factory, landfill, storage, or disposal area requiring
federal investigation or remediation
FUSRAP means the
Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, the federal program
that investigates and remediates residual radioactive contamination associated
with Manhattan Project and early Atomic Energy Commission activities.
Approximate site area
TENORM means
Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material —
naturally occurring radioactive material whose concentration or potential for
exposure was increased by industrial activity.
Waterways
Radiologically contaminated waterways
Select a waterway on the map to view its history and supporting documents.
The routes are approximate documentary overlays based on USACE records and
street-map references.
The NHAP ArcGIS service did not return a tile at this location or zoom level. Switch back to the street map and try another zoom.
Version 0.69 map update: Rattlesnake Creek remains fixed to the user-verified junction and western endpoint. Two Mile Creek now keeps its Niagara River outlet, winds south through Sheridan Park and the Sheridan Park Golf Course, then bends southeast toward the former Linde area. The line remains an approximate documentary overlay rather than a surveyed GIS centerline.
Survey markers are approximate working coordinates reconstructed from addresses, distances, and the report figures. They must not be treated as verified parcel coordinates.
Follow the regional uranium-processing chain. Expand a stage for context, then select Show on map to zoom to the corresponding facility and display its numbered label.
1Uranium Ore from Belgian CongoShinkolobwe region, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
High-grade uranium ore from the Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was shipped to the United States for processing. This stage has no local map marker.
2Linde (Union Carbide)Tonawanda, New York
Refined uranium ore into uranium tetrafluoride (UF₄), commonly called “green salt.”
3Electromet (Union Carbide)Niagara Falls, New York
Converted uranium tetrafluoride (UF4), commonly called green salt, into uranium metal and produced radioactive C-2 slag.
4Hooker ChemicalNiagara Falls, New York
Recovered remaining uranium from C-2 slag using hydrochloric acid.
5Lake Ontario Ordnance Works / Niagara Falls Storage SiteLewiston, New York
Storage, handling, burial, and disposal of radioactive residues and contaminated materials generated by Manhattan Project and later Atomic Energy Commission operations. A New York State Assembly investigation conducted in the aftermath of the Love Canal disaster uncovered accounts that workers associated with the LOOW removed radioactive waste from the site and used it as fill elsewhere in the region.
Radioactive waste from Union Carbide’s Linde and Electromet operations was transported to the LOOW/NFSS. Union Carbide also operated its own landfill on Niagara Falls Boulevard. Records uncovered by a private investigator hired to trace radioactive slag found at a Niagara Falls bowling alley further showed that some Union Carbide waste was diverted, dumped locally, or distributed as fill instead of reaching the federal storage site.
Final stage of the uranium-processing chain, where uranium metal was forged, rolled, machined, and fabricated into uranium rods and other components.
7Bethlehem SteelLackawanna, New York
Final stage of the uranium-processing chain, where uranium metal was forged, rolled, machined, and fabricated into uranium rods and other components.
8Guterl Specialty SteelLockport, New York
Final stage of the uranium-processing chain, where uranium metal was forged, rolled, machined, and fabricated into uranium rods and other components.
9CarborundumNiagara Falls, New York
Conducted uranium-rod research, later nuclear-fuel fabrication work, and plutonium-related research.
10Bell AerospaceWheatfield / Niagara Falls, New York
Conducted nuclear-weapons research and developed the RASCAL nuclear-armed standoff missile.
Map behavior: selecting a facility zooms to its existing marker, opens its popup, and displays a temporary numbered label. Selecting another stage replaces the previous label.
1985 ORNL Niagara Falls Radiological Survey A follow-up investigation of locations identified during the October 1984 mobile gamma scan. ORNL conducted onsite measurements from July 15–17, 1985, and published the findings in ORNL/TM-10076 in November 1986.