Grand Canyon tourists 'exposed to radiation' for nearly 20 years
A safety manager claims adults could have been exposed to radiation 400 times the health limit, and children 4,000 times.
Tuesday 19 February 2019 16:37, UK
Grand Canyon tourists were unaware they were being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation for nearly 20 years, a safety manager has claimed.
Three paint buckets filled with uranium were stored in the National Park's museum collection building as sightseers walked nearby, it is alleged.
Federal officials were said to have discovered the five-gallon containers brimming with radioactive material.
They were then apparently removed from the site after the park's health and safety manager, Elston Stephenson, alleged nothing was done to warn employees or the public that they might have been exposed to unsafe levels of radiation.
Mr Stephenson said the buckets were positioned next to a taxidermy exhibit, where tours averaged half an hour and children would sometimes stop for presentations.
He warned that it could have exposed adults to radiation 400 times the health limit, and children 4,000 times.
One of the buckets was reportedly so full that its lid would not close.
In an email to all park service employees, Mr Stephenson said the alleged cover-up was a "top management failure".
He wrote: "If you were in the Museum Collections Building (2C) between the year 2000 and June 18, 2018, you were 'exposed' to uranium by OSHA's (Occupational Safety and Health Administration's) definition.
"The radiation readings, at first blush, exceeds the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's safe limits.
"Identifying who was exposed, and your exposure level, gets tricky and is our next important task."
Emily Davis, a public affairs specialist at the Grand Canyon, said an investigation was under way with OSHA and the Arizona department of health services.
"The information I have is that the rocks were removed, and there's no danger," Ms Davis said.
She said the building remains open.
The steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona is one of the world's premier natural attractions and attracts around five million visitors per year.
Around 83% of visitors are from the US, with the site being next most popular with UK and Canada tourists.