A report from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry warns members of the Spokane Tribe of Washington not to hunt, fish or gather medicinal plants near a defunct uranium mine.

The report also said tribal members shouldn't use water from the Blue Creek due to contamination from the old Midnite Mine. People who go near the site shouldn't stay more than an houri in order to limit exposure to radiation, the agency said.

“We’ve known that it’s been a problem for a long time,” Frederick Kirschner, a tribal consultant, told The Spokesman Review. “People have taught their kids to stay away.”

The Environmental Protection Agency published plans to clean up the site but Dawn Mining and Newmont Mining Corp. are disputing their share of the cost under the Superfund law.

Get the Story:
Midnite Mine still a threat (The Spokesman Review 6/26)

ATSDR Report:
Midnite Mine — Public Health Assessment for Public Comment (May 2009)

Related Stories:
Mining company held liable for Spokane cleanup (7/16)