NEW DELHI, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The government in India's northeastern state of Meghalaya has ordered a probe into the reports of leakage from uranium waste tanks, officials said on Saturday.
There are reports that toxic waste was leaking from tanks containing uranium in South West Khasi Hills district.
A high-level review meeting was held on Friday when an expert panel was set up to probe the reports of radiation emission from Domiasiat in South West Khasi Hills.
"Chief Secretary M S Rao would constitute an expert panel and it would submit a detailed report about the development to the government at the earliest. The officials of the South West Khasi Hills district recently visited the areas but they reported that there was no leakage," Prestone Tynsong, deputy chief minister of Meghalaya, told the media.
Several non-governmental organisations, civil society groups, village heads and locals from the area have reported about high radioactive emission in areas close to the uranium waste storage tanks.
Locals alleged there are four effluent storage tanks and two other reservoirs at the Domiasiat-Nongbah-Jynrin area, which have developed wide cracks causing leakage of toxic waste.
These tanks were built a few decades ago reportedly for storing wastes extracted during the exploratory drilling for uranium deposits.
The area has one of the best uranium reserves in the country. Enditem
