Church Rock uranium mill spill: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 10:08, 17 July 2009
The Church Rock Uranium Mill Spill occurred in New Mexico, USA, in 1979.
On July 16, 1979, United Nuclear Corporation's Church Rock Mill tailings pond ruptured and ninety-four million gallons of liquid radioactive waste washed into the Rio Puerco. The contaminated water from the Church Rock spill traveled downstream, reaching as far as Chambers, Arizona.[1][2][3]
According to Paul Robinson, research director at the Southwest Research and Information Center, the liquid and solid waste soaked into nearby river beds. Only about 3,400 barrels of waste materials were cleaned up and "very little of the spilled liquid was pumped out of the water supply". The spill resulted from "poor oversight, poor siting and poor construction" and is an example of the problems that can occur at uranium mines and mills.[3]
The Church Rock Uranium Mill Spill is reported to be "the worst radiation accident in all of American History".[1] In terms of the amount of radiation released the accident was comparable in magnitude to the Three Mile Island accident of the same year.[1][2]