Nearly 25 tons of the remants of a building that contained low-level radioactive debris were deposited at the Schultz Landfill near Indian Road in September 1998 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, according to State Department of Environmental Conservation documents.

 In a letter dated February 2, DEC official Paul J. Merges wrote that the US ACOE Project Completion Report for Building 30 at the Linde Air site in Tonawanda stated ‘that 24.92 tons of debris from the North Bay of the building had been disposed at the Schultz Landfill in Cheektowaga.’

 Samples of material from Building 30 detected traces of uranium, thorium, and radium.

 Building 30 at the Linde Air site was demolished in September 1998, according to Merges’s letter.

 Jennifer Post of the DEC stated the department believes "because of the relatively low radioactive material and the small amount of the material, we don’t believe it poses any threat to the public health."

 However, "I’m concerned until someone shows me there’s (no reason for concern)," said Town councilmember Thomas Johnson.

 In addition, Johnson expressed displeasure that the ACOE did not inform the DEC that it deposited the debris at the Schultz Landfill until February 2000, and that the Town was not informed until late last week.

 "I’m extremely, personally angry over the matter, and it hurts the credibility of government dramatically," said Johnson.

 Merges, the DEC’s Bureau of Radiation & Hazardous Site Management Director, contended in his letter that the ACOE’s actions were not a violation of State law at the time.

 The ACOE agreed with Merges, issuing the following statement through Arleen Kreusch, contract public affairs specialist with the ACOE’s Buffalo District, "The material was disposed of in an appropriate manner in a permitted landfill."

 In addition, Merges said the DEC took steps to prevent a similar situation from occurring again without local government’s consent.

 Samples collected from the North Bay of Building 30 were analyzed for radium, two types of thorium, and uranium. All three samples showed traces of all the radioactive elements. One sample was found to contain 36.9 picocuries per gram of uranium, significantly lower than other samples from the building, which produced results as high as 325 picocuries per gram.

 Such information sounds familiar to a section of Town already battered by environmental concerns.

 Since the summer of 2000, nearby residents have expressed concern over seemingly high cancer rates in the area.

 The Buffalo Crushed Stone rock quarry and several landfills are spread through the vicinity, which some activists dubbed the ‘Toxic Triangle.’

 "I would like to make sure that the landfill is sealed, so (radioactive debris) can’t get into the air, and I would like to see the material transported and removed out of state," said Johnson.

 The ACOE typically ships radioactive debris out of New York State, according to Merges’s letter.

 Calls placed to the DEC had not been returned as the Times went to press.