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Elston Stephenson told CNN that he had begun to ask officials of the National Park Service and the Ministry of the Interior last summer to warn workers and tourists that they were not going to be able to travel to the country. they had been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. After his requests were ignored, he said he sent an email to all employees at Grand Canyon Park on February 4th.
"If you were in the museum collections building (Building 2C) between the year 2000 and June 18, 2018, you were exposed to uranium as defined by OSHA," says the email that Stephenson provided to CNN.
"Please, understand, it does not mean that you are contaminated, or that you are going to have health problems." It simply means that there was uranium on the site and that you were in his presence … And according to the law, we are supposed to tell you. "
The National Park Service investigates what has happened and collaborates with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Arizona Department of Health Services, according to the Department of National Parks. the Interior, which oversees the park's services.
"Uranium is naturally present in the rocks of Grand Canyon National Park." A recent study of the Grand Canyon National Park Museum's collection facilities revealed radiation levels corresponding to background levels – always present quantity in the environment – and below levels of public health and safety concern.There is currently no risk to the public or park staff, "said the ministry in a statement sent to CNN.
The National Parks Service also stated that there was "no current risk" for the public or park employees.
"The museum's collection facilities are open and the work activities of the employees have proceeded normally," Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Emily Davis said in a statement. "The NPS takes the safety of the public and employees seriously and the response to the allegations and we will share additional information on this matter as the investigation continues."
Stephenson told CNN that in early June he had discovered about three buckets of 5-gallon uranium ore that had been stored next to an exhibit on taxidermy at the park museum for nearly two decades. . He said that he immediately contacted a radiation specialist from the park's services to report the danger.
According to a report from a radiation protection officer in the park service who responded to Stephenson's request on June 14, 2018, test results were positive for radioactivity above background levels near buckets, but elsewhere, radiation levels were not high.
Also according to the report, the park services decided to remove the buckets on June 18 and dispose of their contents in the nearby Lost Orphan uranium mine, from where the ore was sourced.
Stephenson told CNN that the park service workers were not sufficiently prepared to handle the radioactive materials, carrying buckets with gardening gloves purchased from a general store and using mop handles to lift them.
Stephenson said that after trying for months to convince National Park Service officials to inform employees and the public of the possibility of exposure to uranium, he filed a complaint with OSHA in November.
The next day, Stephenson said that OSHA sent inspectors in protective gear to check the museum and found that park workers had brought the buckets back to the park facility after draining the ore from the park. # 39; uranium.
"OSHA has opened an investigation into the open issue on November 28," said OSHA spokesman Leo Kay in a statement to CNN, declining to make further comments. on an ongoing investigation.
The staff of US Representative Tom O & # 39; Halleran, of D-Arizona, met Stephenson in December, according to Cody Uhing, director of communications of Congressman.
"We reported this to the Natural Resources Committee, which is responsible for monitoring this area.We asked the Inspector General's Office of the Interior Ministry to examine it and we provide a report, "said Uhing.
The Office of the Inspector General of the Ministry of the Interior confirmed Tuesday that he had received a letter from O & # 39; Halleran and that he would examine it.
Anna Erickson, associate professor of nuclear and radiological engineering at Georgia Tech, said that uranium exposure at the museum would probably not have been dangerous for visitors.
"Uranium ore contains natural (non-enriched) uranium that emits relatively small amounts of radiation," said Erickson. "Given the extremely low reading (zero above the bottom) at 5 feet from the bucket, I'm skeptical, there could be health risks associated with visiting the show."
Stephenson told CNN that schoolchildren visits often passed in front of the museum's buckets, but that he was mostly concerned about park staff and high school interns working every day near the uranium.
"A safe workplace is really a human right," he said.
Katia Hetter from CNN contributed to this report.
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