Luckey nuclear weapons site receives $5M for continued cleanup

LUCKEY, Ohio — The United States Army Corps of Engineers received $5 million to continue efforts to remediate contamination at a former nuclear weapons site in northwest Ohio.

The site, just northeast of Luckey, was used first to process magnesium during the United States’ development of its first atomic bomb, then later used in beryllium production. The U.S. Department of Energy designated the site for remediation in 1992, “due to extensive surface contamination from beryllium.”

Beryllium has several industrial uses, but also serves as a key ingredient of some nuclear weapons. Exposure to its dust, vapors, and particles can cause berylliosis, a serious and sometimes fatal lung ailment also known as chronic beryllium disease, as well as cancer.

Luckey’s site is one of 12 across the coun