Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Manhattan Project eyed as potential source of high radiation in Western NY
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Jul 28, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Jul 28, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
High radiation levels have prompted officials to contact hundreds of residents near Buffalo and driven four families out of their homes — and state and federal environmental regulators say the source of the mysterious contamination could be tied to the Manhattan Project.
Niagara and Erie counties played a vital role in the development of the United States’ first nuclear weapon during World War II. The state Department of Environmental Conservation began testing the area for potentially hazardous radioactivity three years ago and began informing residents in March 2025, according to locals.
Lifelong Niagara resident Kellie Motyka said readings by state environmental officials found radiation in her home was 10 times above normal. She’s begun a process to relocate while additional sampling and evaluations continue.
“Honestly, it feels like a very weird, strange movie,” Motyka said. “It feels like a loss, like somebody died.”
State environmental regulators have also distributed letters to residents across the region in order to gain access to their properties for testing. So far, nearly 400 residents have submitted requests for testing. The agency previously collected readings from roadways and parking lots. Over the weekend, officials deployed specialized teams to work in the area.
The DEC has not yet determined the exact source and types of radiation in the area, but the agency said it could be linked to the top-secret 1940s project that produced the pair of atom bombs dropped on Japan.
Erie County was a busy hub for uranium enrichment for the Manhattan Project. And 7,500 acres in Niagara County between the towns of Porter and Lewistown were used to store 37 million gallons of radioactive waste and chemicals. In 1986, the U.S. Department of Energy remediated the site and contained the radioactive materials on site.
“This area should be added to the state superfund for a full cleanup. That's the least that should be done. You have to get these people out of their homes,” said Joseph Romm, an energy expert and senior researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. “During the Manhattan Project, everything was top secret, so the exposure levels, what people were exposed to and what the levels were, was never widely known.”
Romm called the radiation a “public health emergency.”
The region was also a global center for metallurgy during the 20th century, producing specialized steel products used for space exploration that made the first moon landing possible. Edwin Lyman, nuclear power safety director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the contamination could also be caused by radioactive sludge from those manufacturing facilities.
The sludge “could have just migrated off-site into groundwater; could have blown, by the wind, into adjacent areas,” Lyman said.
State officials have set up a dedicated hotline and email address for residents in the area to call for more information or to request a radiation test.
“Agencies are fully committed to getting results for all impacted residents by screening outside and inside homes whenever warranted and taking necessary action, including offering temporary housing,” DEC spokesperson Jeff Wernick wrote in a statement. “We are deeply sensitive to the community concerns and are resolute in our mission to protect people’s health and the environment.”
Community members formed a group called Save Our Backyards Niagara that has held informational meetings for residents and rallies. They are pushing for widespread radiation testing in the region, not just the properties identified by the DEC.
One of the group’s founders, Lexi Hawk, said the home she shares with her fiancé and 3-year-old daughter had high levels of thorium, a material used for producing metals for the aerospace industry as well as camera and telescope lenses. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, thorium is naturally occurring and poses little hazard to human health. But experts warn if thorium dust is inhaled, the contaminant can increase the chance of lung and bone cancer.
Hawk said the first letter she received from the DEC included a waiver to sign away any rights to claims, which many residents distrusted. The waiver portion was removed in the recent letters that were mailed out.
“When you have to choose between knowing if your yard is contaminated to protect your family, but you have to sign your rights away, it’s not a fair choice,” Hawk said. “I felt it was coercive.”
Tagged
environment
new york state
Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NY migrant children face having to go it alone in immigration court
The end of a federal legal services contract for unaccompanied minors leaves more than 1,400 across the state without assistance.
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Jul 31, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ET
7th person dies in Upper East Side Legionnaires' outbreak as NYC reports 92 cases
Health officials say five people remain hospitalized, but no new symptoms have been reported in the last two weeks and the city believes the source of exposure has been eliminated.
By
Giulia Heyward
News
7th person dies in Upper East Side Legionnaires' outbreak as NYC reports 92 cases
Health officials say five people remain hospitalized, but no new symptoms have been reported in the last two weeks and the city believes the source of exposure has been eliminated.
By
Giulia Heyward
Bronx mother and grandmother charged in starvation death of autistic teen
By
Catalina Gonella
AOC’s path to the White House could soon become clearer
By
Elizabeth Kim
Early Addition: If you find the secret bolt in a rock in Central Park, be cool about it
By
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .