Tribes worry about radioactive dust from old FMC site

Once the site of the world’s largest phosphorus plant, the former FMC site just west of Pocatello has been closed for more than a decade. But some continue to worry about the contamination left behind.

The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes claim radioactive dust from the site is blowing into nearby communities and poses a health risk.

The site contains charcoal gray-colored slag, which a tribal environmental expert described as “a waste byproduct from the elemental phosphorus.”

“You’ve got both total metals and radiological constituents leaving the site,” said Kelly Wright, the tribe’s environmental waste management program manager.

Wright said excavation atop the slag piles is stirring up dust, which he said is being blown throughout the area during high wind events.

Wright said, if inhaled, some of the chemicals at the FMC site can cause cancer and asthma.

“Unfortunately, dust is gonna move,” said Wright.

Bruce Olenick with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality declined Local News 8’s request for an interview, but said the radiological risk from blowing dust would be “negligible at best.”

“That would be dependent upon your definition of what’s acceptable for a risk,” said Wright.

Wright said the tribes are asking that work at the FMC site stop during high wind events. They’ve also launched a website: fmccoverup.org.