06/15/2009

Associated Press

If you must visit the Midnite Mine site in Stevens County, don't spend a lot of time there.

That's the recommendation from the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

The Midnite is a closed uranium mine on the Spokane Indian Reservation near Wellpinit. Many people visit the mine area for traditional or subsistence activities.

But the agency found that coming into contact with contaminants over a long period of time could harm human health. The agency recommends that people not drink water from the site, and avoid eating plants or roots that grow in the area. It also recommends that people spend no more than one hour a day in the mined area.