BY JOURNAL STAFF
The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes issued a warning Saturday evening regarding what they called “a health concern” about radioactive material being carried by high winds from the former FMC plant site near Pocatello.
But no one seemed to be taking the tribes seriously. As of 10:30 p.m. Saturday, no official air quality alerts for Southeast Idaho had been issued by any local, county or state government agencies.
The tribes directed their radiation warning at the residents of Pocatello, American Falls, Blackfoot and Fort Hall, stating that Saturday’s high winds were causing radioactive material at the FMC site to be blown “throughout the valley.”
The tribes said in a 6 p.m. Saturday press release: “The FMC site stores tens of thousands of tons of toxic industrial waste–primarily poisonous and reactive elemental phosphorus–in the ground and in capped ponds on reservation land. It is clear FMC cannot control the dust with these high winds, whereas the tribes advise the public to take caution for those residents living within 50 to 100 miles radius of the site.”
The Journal could not reach local FMC official Paul Yochum for comment Saturday night about the tribes’ radiation claims.
The Journal did reach officials with Southeast Idaho Public Health and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, but they said they did not know about the tribes’ claims. As of 10:30 p.m. Saturday neither Southeast Idaho Public Health nor the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality would make a comment.
The Pocatello Fire Department reported that it had received no official air quality warnings Saturday night and had no reason to believe there were air quality issues in the Pocatello area.