Radioactive Concrete Block Recalled by UCLA

A huge concrete block, used as shielding for a nuclear reactor at UCLA and then donated to an animal refuge in Little Tujunga Canyon, has been hauled back to the university after discovery of elevated radioactivity in the concrete, according to a UCLA report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

University officials said radiation in the block--employed by the refuge in an effort to control soil erosion--exceeded the amount existing naturally in soil, but was well below NRC safety limits.

In a Jan. 11 report to the NRC, they said they removed the block “in order to eliminate any concern” at the Wildlife Waystation, a shelter east of Sylmar that cares for dangerous and exotic animals.

Radioactivity in 19 other concrete blocks that were donated to the waystation was measured at or below the level of natural background radiation, according to UCLA officials.