Aerial Radiological Survey of the Poison Canyon Uranium Mines
From October 5 through October 8, 2011, the EPA Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology (ASPECT) program conducted aerial surveys of approximately 20 square miles of land in the Grants, New Mexico area. This area of New Mexico was extensively mined for uranium ore from the 1950s until the 1980s. The aerial survey was conducted to determine if residual contamination was present and included both radiological and photographic surveys of areas that were formerly uranium mines. This survey is a follow-up to a survey conducted in August of this year and is conducted with parameters similar to those used in the August surveys. Several radiological analyses were conducted and nearly 180 aerial photographs of the area were taken.