The Environmental Protection Agency announced on October 5 that a now defunct uranium mine known as the Midnite Mine, located on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State, will receive funding for cleanup, according to the Associated Press. The mine, which is currently classified as a Superfund site, operated from 1955 through 1981. The Dawn Mining Company used it to produce uranium during the Cold War. Today it is a series of open pits that leak mild radiation into the land, air, and water, the AP reported.
The entire cleanup is expected to cost $152 million and take between five and seven years to complete, according to the AP. The EPA is suing both the Dawn Mining Co. and the Newmont Mining Co. to cover the cost, but Washington state taxpayers of may ultimately foot the bill.
