DEP: No radioactivity in Ten Mile Creek
A final report from the state Department of Environmental Protection has concluded there is no dangerous radioactivity in Ten Mile Creek near the Clyde Mine Treatment Facility in Greene County.
“The results from testing conducted throughout 2016 were similar to those taken in 2015, at which time DEP concluded there was no risk of radioactivity,” John Stefanko, DEP’s executive deputy secretary for programs, said in a statement released Thursday.
Stefanko said the latest samples “were put through rigorous testing and reached the same conclusions.”
The DEP determined that the presence of radioactivity, which can occur naturally in the environment, fell below the level for drinking water set forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Any radiation that was detected was consistent with background levels for southwest Pennsylvania,” said the DEP’s statement.
The DEP took water and sludge samples from five sites near the mine treatment facility in January, April and June. A December 2015 report of testing on water, sediment, aquatic vegetation and fish collected at 12 sites six months earlier also showed no radiological issues.
Also, an independent study released in June 2015 by the West Virginia University Water Research Institute showed that radiation levels did not exceed the EPA’s standards.
Tests on Ten Mile Creek were prompted by a DEP study in April 2014 that showed excessive levels of radiation in the water even though subsequent tests demonstrated no problems.
Based on previous tests, state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson Township, said she was not surprised to learn of the DEP’s final conclusions and was happy that the agency could now move on to other issues.