Residents living near the WCS low-level radioactive waste dump in Andrews County in West Texas near the New Mexico border will soon be asked to complete a health survey commissioned by state environmental and health officials and conducted by the University of North Texas to assess about 24,000 people who live within a 35-mile radius of Waste Control Specialists LLC’s site.
The survey, which was part of legislation passed in 2003, will provide a baseline assessment before material is buried for the first time at the site later this year. Letters encouraging residents to participate will go out in the next few days and the results will not be made public.