In Los Alamos, where the American atomic bomb was born as part of the Manhattan Project led by Robert Oppenheimer, polotonium levels are currently comparable to those at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, researchers warn.
“Extreme concentrations” of the radioactive substance plutonium were found in the soil, plants and water of the area in the US state of New Mexico, according to a study by researchers at North Arizona University.
After years of redesign to make it safer, the land around Los Alamos has been transformed into a dirt road popular with cyclists, hikers and runners, The Guardian newspaper reported.
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In the area known as Acid Canyon, scientist Michael Ketterer of Northern Arizona University found that plutonium levels were “among the highest” he had ever seen in a publicly accessible area in the United States, similar to those at Chernobyl in Ukraine, the site of the nuclear disaster.
“This is one of the most shocking things I have ever stumbled upon in my life,” said Ketterer, who led the study, pointing out that the radioactive isotopes are “hidden right in front of our eyes.”
Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy said the plutonium levels were “very low and well within the safe exposure range,” the report said.
While Ketterer acknowledged that the immediate danger was small, he said the risk to the environment was still worrying.
Plutonium could contaminate water supplies that ultimately flow into the Rio Grande, get into plants and eventually enter the food chain, or be widely spread in the ash in the event of a wildfire, he warned.
By 1963, the Los Alamos National Laboratory was dumping radioactive waste into a canyon so saturated with toxic waste that it was nicknamed “Acid Canyon,” the report said.
According to the Guardian report, the study comes at a time when the US Department of Defense plans to increase production of plutonium at Los Alamos, a key component of nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Los Alamos was exempted from a defense bill that expanded funding for those exposed to the government’s radioactive waste.
(With contributions from agencies)
