A neighbor-led petition · Claymont, Delaware
Our Families Are Not “Insignificant”
In the 1950s and 60s, workers at the old Allied Chemical plant handled uranium for the government. No one has ever tested the ground for what that work may have left behind. We are neighbors asking the EPA to test it now.
“…so insignificant that further investigation… is not warranted.”The U.S. Department of Energy, 1977 — deciding our neighborhood needed no testing, without ever testing it.
They never looked. We don’t accept “safe” without proof.
What’s happening now
Neighbors are going door to door across Claymont with a petition. We are asking the EPA to test the site for radiation and clean up whatever they find.
We’ll carry every name to the EPA on July 20. Can’t sign at the door? You can act online.
Neighbors are already making change
In April 2025, because neighbors spoke up, the EPA put this site’s uranium history into its official record for the first time. That happened because of people like you. The next step is real testing.
Every fact on this site traces to a government record or a public CC4EJ filing. Look for “Where these facts come from” at the bottom of each page.
Where these facts come from
- U.S. Department of Energy (Oak Ridge), “Report of Findings” memo on Allied Chemical sites, December 12, 1977 — source of the word “insignificant.”
- EPA Region 3, Memo to File amending the final cleanup decision, April 15, 2025 — added the uranium history to the official record.
- U.S. Department of Labor facility list: Allied Chemical and Dye Corp., North Claymont, Delaware — Atomic Weapons Employer (the government’s label for plants that handled uranium for the weapons program; it’s what makes workers eligible for federal help).