Radioactive spill threatens water

     Associated Press
      Radioactive waste that spilled repeatedly from a ruptured pipeline at the Mountain Pass Mine last year is threatening drinking water serving the East Mojave National Reserve and three casinos and a golf course in Primm, state and federal officials said.
      Authorities said about 300,000 gallons of waste repeatedly spilled in seven sites at the Mountain Pass Mine in the summer, contaminating public and private lands in the area about 15 miles southwest of the California and Nevada border.
      California officials issued a cleanup and abatement order Monday to the mine owner, Unocal subsidiary Molycorp. The cleanup must begin by May 15 and end by July 31.
      People in San Bernardino County may have been exposed to the waste, which contaminated protected habitat critical to the desert tortoise, an endangered species, federal and state officials said.
      Visitors to the new Mojave National Preserve and adjacent federal lands and nearby residents might be placed at increased risk of exposure to chemicals that may cause cancer, the National Park Service said.
      Particles from the area could become airborne and reach visitors to the park and area residents, said Tony Gross, the preserve's environmental compliance officer.
      Gross said the toxic and radioactive materials could spread to drinking-water wells serving Primm and the Mojave park.
      Molycorp offered in August to clean up the waste. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which owns most of the contaminated land, told the company to remove it by February.
      But it remains because the company and the government have been unable to agree on the details of the cleanup.
      Molycorp is under investigation by a San Bernardino County environmental crimes task force and the state Department of Fish and Game, authorities said.
      The mine near the Nevada border excavates rare earth metals used in color televisions, glassware, camera filters and catalytic converters.
      The spillage from the pipeline contains lead in toxic concentrations, radioactive uranium, barium, thorium and radium, according to a report by the California Environmental Protection Agency.
      The pipeline carries waste water from the mine to Ivanpah Dry Lake beneath federal lands owned by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.
      The spills occurred in July and August during maintenance that involved running foam plugs and large volumes of water through the pipeline to remove a buildup. High pressure ruptured the pipe seven times, spraying the water and hazardous materials into the soil, said Al Stein, BLM assistant district manager.
      "We do have a concern about the materials, primarily from the standpoint of having them out in the environment," said Bill Almas, Molycorp's manager of environmental affairs.
      "We have no reason to suspect a health risk to humans, but we would like to remove them and prevent them from migrating any further," he said.
      One federal document said Molycorp reported that the pipe residue contains radioactivity as much as 100 times background levels.
      Stein said the contamination levels are not extremely high, but high enough to require special handling and disposal at dumps for toxic and radioactive wastes.
      The mine complex encompasses 900 acres and ranks among California's largest sources of hazardous waste.