High radiation readings in Western New York have prompted state officials to contact hundreds of residents and forced several families to leave their homes as regulators investigate whether the contamination could be tied to the Manhattan Project.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has spent the past three years testing parts of Niagara and Erie counties for possible radioactive contamination. The region played a key role in the development of the nation’s first nuclear weapons during World War II.
Residents said they began receiving notifications from the state in March 2025, and nearly 400 people have since requested testing of their properties…