Friday, Apr 1 2011 9:46AM
A Nevada lawmaker is asking the federal government to increase their clean up efforts at an old nuclear test site.
Nevada Assemblyman Ed Goedhart is calling on the federal government to improve its cleanup efforts at a nuclear testing site that he said has contaminated underground aquifers that supply drinking water to the state's rural Nye County, reported Fox News.
While the contaminated water is currently confined to federal land, Goedhart said state lawmakers are concerned it can prevent access to huge amounts of much-needed water for many residents. In his testimony to the state Assembly Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining, the news source reported that Goedhart said the pollution has destroyed between $18 billion and $48 billion in natural resources.
The Nevada Test Site was used by the federal government for both above and underground nuclear testing until 1992. While Department of Energy says it has spent about $160 million in the past decade toward clean up and scientific testing, the source reported there are still low levels of radioactivity on the land.
Goedhart said the federal government hasn't done enough to clean it up. The source said he has proposed a state resolution that calls on the agency to mitigate any damage, which would include a $4 million grant to Nye County so it can conduct its own independent analysis of local water.
About 80 percent of the radioactive chemicals in drinking water occur naturally, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, while the rest come from man made sources. High levels of exposure can significantly increase the chance of developing cancer.