- Uranium is leaking from a Utah site into the Colorado
River at 530 times the federal radiation limit, threatening the drinking
water of more than 25 million people, according to an independent study
released today. The findings by the nonprofit watchdog group Project On
Government Oversight have prompted Nevada and California representatives
to call for the 10.5 million tons of radioactive material to be removed
rather than covering it with a cap to protect it from rain and leaving
it next to the Colorado River near Moab, Utah.
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- The radiation and toxins are entering the river at 6.7
gallons per minute from an old mining site operated for the federal government.
The radiation already exceeds Utah standards and the state has called
for an extensive study of ground water.
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- Based on research done by the Department of Energy's
national laboratories, scientists estimate that the uranium perched on
the edge of the Colorado River will continue leaking radiation into the
river, serving people in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson for
the next 270 years. Contamination from the Moab uranium would continue
to increase in the river for the next nine years, DOE scientists at the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee said. And if there is a flood,
the radioactive pile could be washed into the water, significantly raising
the level of contamination. "Polluter greed is prevailing over the
health of millions of Americans exposed to radiation leeching from a toxic
waste site into the Colorado River," the Project on Government Oversight,
an independent government watchdog group, said in a news release.
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- Researchers for the group discovered that the DOE has
moved uranium and other toxic materials away from rivers and sources of
ground water a dozen times in the West over the past 10 years in cases
where the radioactive levels were 10 times smaller than that from the
Moab pile. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering a plan to
allow Atlas Corp., a defunct milling operator, to cap the pile of uranium
on site at a cost of $14 million. The DOE estimates it could cost $101
million to move the toxic pile.
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- In addition, the Project on Government Oversight report
said the uranium and toxic metals pose a threat to endangered fish including
the razorback sucker, humpback chub, bonytail chub and Colorado squawfish.
Besides the radioactivity, the mound contains ammonia, arsenic, lead,
mercury and nickel. The toxic pile is stored less than 750 feet from the
river and the ground is not lined to prevent leaks. The proposed legislation
would shift the emphasis from keeping the uranium where it is to cleaning
up the pile.
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- Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., is cosponsoring HR 393,
with Reps. George Miller and Bob Filner, both D-Calif., to shift agency
responsibilities for removing the uranium to the DOE.
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- "An ounce of contamination prevention is worth
a pound of toxic waste in our water supply," Berkley said Monday.
"Nevadans are tired of paying the price for America's nuclear legacy,
and we're tired of waiting for a crisis before somebody does something."
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- In addition to cleanup, the bill would require the U.S.
attorney general to assess Atlas' liability and hold it financially responsible
for the move. The company is threatening to declare bankruptcy. Although
the polluted plume has been tracked less than 2 miles into the Colorado
River, it could affect water quality downstream. Nevada and California
water officials have detected a slight increase in radioactivity over
the past six years, including elevated levels in 1993, 1994 and 1997 in
Lake Mead. The source of the radioactivity in the lake is unknown.
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