“Federal scientists detected elevated radiation in the shrine’s parking area during investigations in 1978. A subsequent Oak Ridge National Laboratory report documented unusually high concentrations of uranium and radium.
What investigators found
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Uranium-238: Approximately 55 times the normal background concentration.
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Radium-226: Approximately 40 times background.
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Gamma radiation: Elevated readings across portions of the parking area.
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Source: Crushed industrial slag apparently used as gravel in the parking lot.
“These were concentrations in sampled material, not measurements showing that visitors received 40–55 times normal radiation doses.
“Importantly, investigators believed the radioactive material originated from industrial processing of phosphate rock, not from the Manhattan Project nuclear waste stored at the nearby Niagara Falls Storage Site.
“That is the question the historical reports do not fully answer.
“Niagara County’s 2008 report said federal authorities had not conducted further investigation of the shrine’s radioactive slag because it was unrelated to the former military nuclear-waste operations.
“There is, however, a new regional investigation. In 2026, the EPA and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation continued surveying properties in Niagara and Erie counties for radiological contamination. I found no confirmation that the Fatima Shrine had been tested as part of that program.
“You can read the original evidence:
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2008 Niagara County report — see printed page 3-24.
“My conclusion: There is documented historical evidence of radioactive material at the Fatima Shrine itself, particularly in its former gravel parking area. That does not establish a dangerous exposure level today, but the absence of verified follow-up testing leaves a legitimate question about current conditions.”