106 highest cancer rates closest to contaminated sites.27 In 2006 a public health review of Ottawa studying radium was released by the Illinois Department of Public Health. This study found that: Elevated levels of radium-226 exist in soil and exposure may occur in the future if they are not removed. USEPA estimated that residents, workers, and trespassers have a low increased risk of cancer from exposure to contaminated soil. Based on current site conditions, IDPH concludes that exposure to radium-226 in soil at NPL-11 and NPL-8 poses a public health hazard. USEPA is planning to clean up these two remaining areas of contamination. This should eliminate the exposure pathway and prevent future exposures. As of 2022, site NPL-8, the site with direct access to the Fox River, has not been remediated and work continues to secure funding for cleanup of this site. However, the other fifteen sites have all had some level of decontamination and soil removal.20 The story of Ottawa’s “deadly glow” and its battle against corporate interest, short-sighted thinking, and environmental apathy continues to cause harm to the Fox River and the residents of Ottawa. However, the pain and suffering that the Radium Girls went through led to great change in occupational safety for Illinois workers. The decontamination efforts, however, remain incomplete and hopefully one day the invisible killer will no longer plague Ottawa and the Fox River delta. 27 Illinois Department of Public Health, The Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University, and The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry of the United States Public Health Service, GIS Analysis of the Incidence of Cancer and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in LaSalle County, Illinois Surrounding the Ottawa Radiation Sites (Atlanta, GA: Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, January 1998): 1-4.
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