State: Illegally dumped radioactive fracking waste will stay in E. Oregon landfill
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A state agency has chosen to leave millions of pounds of illegally dumped, radioactive fracking waste in an Eastern Oregon landfill.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the Oregon Department of Energy’s decision Wednesday comes just over a year after it issued a notice of violation to Chemical Waste Management.
The company operates Oregon’s only hazardous waste landfill, outside of the Columbia River town of Arlington.
An investigation found CWM had dumped 1,284 tons of radioactive waste in the landfill over three years.
Oregon law prohibits the establishment of a radioactive waste disposal facility. The state Department of Energy says removing the waste “would pose a greater risk to landfill workers than leaving the waste in place.”
