Foreign Waste Dumped in Southeast Utah – White Mesa Mill

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Foreign Waste Dumped in Southeast Utah – White Mesa Mill

Date: 05/16/2024     State: CO     Issues: Mining, Wild Lands     Partner: Grand Canyon Trust Airport Origin : Blanding, UT    

Mission


After we received word, we hopped in the plane with Grand Canyon Trust to aerially examine and document 138 tons of harmful waste and material from Japan that was dumped at the White Mesa Mill in Blanding, UT. White Mesa, the Utah uranium mill was paid to receive this waste and it's believed the uranium-bearing material is radioactive.

Last year, the Mill received 1.4 million pounds of toxic waste from Estonia, making this remote area in southeast Utah a worldwide destination for radioactive waste. The Mill is located right next to Bears Ears and the White Mesa Ute Mountain Ute Community.

EcoFlight has partnered with the Tribe, communities, and organizations working to protect the White Mesa Ute Mountain Ute community’s health, water, air, land, culture, and sacred sites from the uranium mill. We originally flew over White Mesa on August 4th, 2021 and discovered the mill was in violation of EPA regulations that require cells holding radioactive waste to be fully covered with water. The inadequate liquid coverage emits about 10 times more radon than a covered cell. These violations have persisted since June 2020.

 

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