2nd Place, James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Kurt Steiss / The Blade, “Legacy of Luckey”In one of the most comprehensive testing programs of its kind, The Toledo Blade found high levels of radioactivity in the drinking water in and around the village of Luckey, Ohio, which sits in the shadow of a beryllium-contaminated former Cold War weapons plant. Testing took place from April 2024 through January. Nineteen of the 39 samples showed radioactivity 10 times greater than the federal government says is normal for the area. The radioactivity detected was primarily bismuth-214. Karina Hahn-Claydon looks to her backyard as she sips on coffee at her home near Luckey, Ohio, on Saturday, March 22, 2025. Hahn-Claydon has expressed concern about the water quality in the area. “Things that happened generations ago are still affecting us,” she said. “And that’s because the government didn’t take care of it.” She lives nearby the Luckey FUSRAP (Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program) site, a former Cold War weapons plant.
2nd Place, James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Kurt Steiss / The Blade, “Legacy of Luckey”A radiation warning sign is seen at the Luckey FUSRAP site in Luckey, Ohio, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.
2nd Place, James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Kurt Steiss / The Blade, “Legacy of Luckey”Karina Hahn-Claydon cleans dishes at her home near Luckey, Ohio, on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
2nd Place, James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Kurt Steiss / The Blade, “Legacy of Luckey”An aerial view from a drone shows the former Cold War weapons site, north of Luckey, Ohio, on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
2nd Place, James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Kurt Steiss / The Blade, “Legacy of Luckey”Reporter Alexa York takes a water sample from a home in Luckey, Ohio, on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024.
2nd Place, James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Kurt Steiss / The Blade, “Legacy of Luckey”Reporter Alexa York takes a water sample at a home in Luckey, Ohio, on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024.
2nd Place, James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Kurt Steiss / The Blade, “Legacy of Luckey”Water test samples from a home in Luckey, Ohio, on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024.
2nd Place, James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Kurt Steiss / The Blade, “Legacy of Luckey”A man watches the tractor pull during the Fall Festival at Basic Park in Luckey, Ohio, on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. The park is just down the road from the former Cold War weapons site.
2nd Place, James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Kurt Steiss / The Blade, “Legacy of Luckey”John Thierry, resident engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers, shows the Luckey FUSRAP site in Luckey, Ohio, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.
2nd Place, James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Kurt Steiss / The Blade, “Legacy of Luckey”Air monitors seen at the Luckey FUSRAP site in Luckey, Ohio, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.
