nuclear-news

Concern over Idaho wildfire at uranium contaminated site

One area of concern is a defunct uranium mine and milling operation 5 miles west of North Fork, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a cleanup several years ago of polluted soil, hazardous wastes and piles of raw uranium and thorium ore.

No decontamination of buildings at that site was ever performed, and at least one of those buildings burned in the fire, according to officials from the state Department of Environmental Quality

Idaho wildfire roars through former uranium mine site Laura Zuckerman
Reuters, September 21, 2012 SALMON, Idaho  – A wildfire in east-central Idaho has burned through three former mining sites containing traces of radioactive thorium and uranium and was advancing a fourth such site on Thursday, but state officials said they believed the risk to human health was low.

As a precaution, state environmental authorities planned to take air
samples in North Fork, a small community in the fire zone north of
Salmon, to assess any radioactive hazards posed by fire damage to the
sites.
One area of concern is a defunct uranium mine and milling operation 5 miles west of North Fork, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a cleanup several years ago of polluted soil, hazardous wastes and piles of raw uranium and thorium ore.

No decontamination of buildings at that site was ever performed, and at least one of those buildings burned in the fire, according to officials from the state Department of Environmental Quality….. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-wildfiresbre88k063-20120920,0,1219812.story

September 22, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | incidents, Uranium, USA