The State - News from Feb. 20, 1989

The U.S. Department of Energy says it will cost between $5.8 million and $27.9 million to clean up a facility on the UC Davis campus contaminated by the waste of beagles used in radiation experiments. After 30 years, the Energy Department and the university are ending research on the long-range effects of low-level radiation on the dogs. Before turning over the buildings to UC Davis, the Energy Department has to remove cages, plumbing, and a sewer system contaminated by waste from dogs that were fed radioactive Strontium 90, a product of nuclear fallout that can enter the food chain and become concentrated in the bones of animals and people. When ingested in high doses, it can cause bone cancer. Carolyn Owen, radiation safety officer at UC Davis, said radiation levels at the research facility are too low to pose a health threat.